


Revolving Around You

by y_oona



Series: Revolving Around You Series [1]
Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Another valiant attempt at reviving this tag, F/M, Gen, I should’ve added angst in the tag around chapter 2 but I didn’t lmao oops, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-21
Updated: 2018-04-16
Packaged: 2019-04-05 11:02:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 48,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14042847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/y_oona/pseuds/y_oona
Summary: Seungcheol's the epitome of the perfect bachelor. He's young, rich, smart and an inheritor. But when reality in the form of Jeonghan comes knocking on his door to tell him he has daughter, the perfect bachelor has to learn how to become the perfect dad. And Jeonghan's the one who's going to teach him how.





	1. Lost in Space

* * *

 

 

“That was by far the best sushi I ever had,” The girl exaggerates as she drops her purse on the counter. Seungcheol chuckles as he tosses his keys on the dining table, “What’s for dessert?”

He rummages through the refrigerator and pulls out a bottle of champagne, “How about a glass?”

Seungcheol is the living definition of young, dumb and rich. The perfect bachelor. He’s a twenty-three-year-old living alone in a penthouse, ready to inherit one of the largest corporations in California. His life couldn’t be better. After graduating from Stanford (okay so not that dumb), all he had to do was wait until his dad saw him fit to take over the company. As of now, he’s still lavished and living large.

A knock resonates through his penthouse, which seems a bit odd at this late hour, and he’s really only expecting his one company tonight. Opening the door, revealing someone he’s never seen before. The guy seems a bit lost, but Seungcheol is intrigued. He has long brown hair, stopping just at his shoulders, wrapped in a black sweater. “Ummm, can I help you?”

“Are you…” he looks at his hand for reference _‘Is he reading off his hand?_ ’ Seungcheol squints, only to straighten himself up when the stranger looks back up at him, “Seungcheol?”

The said man nods, wondering what this guy, he looks like a college student, is doing at his door. In the most nonchalant manner, he smiles, “Hi daddy.”

To sum it all up, Seungcheol choked.

 

Ten minutes can really do a number to someone. Like within that ten minutes, Seungcheol is able to choke on his own spit, while his ‘friend’ for the night storms out, a bit disgusted at him being a “Two timing kinky pig” when really, everything is being taken out of context. And to top it off, the person who had called him daddy is a very attractive person who seems to pull off long hair extremely well, much to Seungcheol’s discomfort.

“Chill, you’re not my dad,” the stranger welcomes himself inside his place, looking around, astounded by the lifestyle of rich people. “My name’s Jeonghan, and I’m about to drop huge bomb on you.”

“How the hell did you get up here?” Seungcheol finally composes himself, following Jeonghan around his living room. But he doesn’t get an answer. Instead, Jeonghan reaches into his back pocket and hands a picture of a little girl, she looks no older than three. "This is your kid."

And now he feels his brain frying. "I don't know you." He spits out a reply dumbly as his brain reboots. A kid? As in, a spawn of his? This random guy literally barges into his life and announces that he has a child. There’s absolutely no way he has a kid.

"Yeah well this is yours," The long-haired man takes the picture back and wiggles it in front of his face.

"Guys can't get pregnant."

Jeonghan rolled his eyes at the idiotic reply, "It didn't come out of me,” he sits back down on the couch, upset at the fact that of all the people who knocked up his best friend, it was some rich half-wit from downtown. “You got a girl pregnant. She wanted to keep the baby; so, I promised her I'd help her take care of her."

"Were you her boyfriend or something?"

"No, I'm gay," he sighs once more trying to phrase his next sentence carefully, "but I'm a full-time grad student who's working really hard and…” his voice drops, his face falling, “I can't take care of her by myself anymore."

"So, what do you want me to do about it?" Seungcheol doesn’t like how he sounds inconsiderate, but he still didn’t understand the purpose of him being here.

Jeonghan sighs at the man’s inability to grasp the situation, “I want you to help raise your offspring! Is that something you can understand?”

He doesn’t enjoy the tone in the other’s voice, he felt a sense of pride eating at him, “You don’t know who I am do you?”

“From your condescending tone, I take it I should,” Jeonghan ruffles his hair, a bit annoyed. “Okay. I’ll bite. Who are you?”

“Choi Seungcheol. The heir of CSC company,” He cocks his head to the side, as if he was trying to understand Jeonghan, “What makes you think that I’d help you raise a child?”

“Listen. She’s your blood. Not mine,” he said sadly, “I have no obligation to raise her, but I love that little girl. But Nayoung gave me two choices. It’s either I find you, and give Jae to you, or I give her up for adoption. I can’t do that. So please.”

Seungcheol felt guilty, but he turns him down, “I can’t help you. You’re wrong, I couldn’t possibly have child and not know about it.”

“Why would I lie about something like this?”

“I don’t know why! People do it all the time!”

Jeonghan’s nose flares in anger, “Well apparently you need to find a different crowd of people.”

“I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to ask you to leave before I call security,” Seungcheol points to the door. Jeonghan’s jaw locks, anger boiling in him.

“All rich people are the same,” he scoffs at him, “Selfish, self-absorbed, untrusting, and prideful. I don’t know why I even tried.”

Seungcheol watches as Jeonghan storms out of his penthouse, shaking a couple of picture frames in the process. His presence was strong, the heir could still feel him inside the apartment. But how is he supposed to just believe a random stranger that he was taking care of a daughter he didn’t know he had…

Wait.

 

 

***

 

 

“You turned him away? With your possible child?” Jihoon shrieks, catching up to his best friend after handing the valet his keys.

“She can’t be mine even though she really might be,” he grumbles, “I remember Nayoung. I remember sleeping with her. Dating her for two months, then deleting her number. Getting a message maybe a month later from an unknown number claiming she was pregnant, and I ignored it because-”

“You were being you and thought it was some prank.”

Waltzing into the high-class restaurant, the two are seated among the men in business suits. His father had ordered him to attend this meeting with him so he could properly grasp the concept of what it’s like to be the boss. The two sat near his father at the end of the table, greeting everyone along their way. 

As per usual, another boring business meeting where him and Jihoon have to learn about the ins and outs of running a company and how to handle nitpicky and persistent pitches from guys who only want to be in on the fun and money. They’ve been doing it since they were sixteen. Private school raised from kindergarten to the day they both graduated a private university. Business as usual for the sons of the CEO and the CFO. Exclusiveness, money and fake laughter inside fancy hotel restaurants that could probably feed half of the west coast but refused to because “That’s not the way to make money.”

 _‘Stupid rich people,’_ he heard himself say in his head. The corner of his lip turns down when he realizes just how much he sounded like-

“No fucking way...” Seungcheol freezes in his spot. His eyes grow wide when he spots Jeonghan, dawned in a white dress shirt and an apron around his waist over his black trousers, his long brown hair pulled back in a ponytail, heading towards their table.

“Hello everyone, my name is Jeonghan and I will be your server for tonight,” he spoke with the signature spunk all waiters needed. The heir watches intently as he goes around the table, jotting down their drinks. Seungcheol doesn’t miss Jeonghan’s shock when he finally gets to him. 

“Scotch on rocks please,” he tries to sound nonchalant, but it ultimately fails since Jeonghan is shooting daggers at him. When he finally walks away, Seungcheol releases his held breath, and looks to Jihoon, panicking. “That was him! That’s the guy who told me I’m a dad!” He whispers.

“This is God’s way of bitch slapping you,” the shorter spat almost automatically, “He’s raising your daughter by himself and you’re letting him.”

“It also might not be mine!”

It’s safe to say that the dinner was the most uncomfortable one he’s ever sat through. Pleasantly surprised that there was no spilling of the food, or splashing of drinks, just pure and undeniable hatred. Still, feels incredibly guilty.

Excusing himself from the table, he ignores Jihoon’s questioning gaze and approaches the hostess table, “Hi, can I speak to a manager? I’d just like to ask if I could speak to our waiter, Jeonghan. I just wanted to share some compliments and an extra tip for gratitude.”

The woman nods, heading to the back. It’s nearly closing time and a couple of the larger tables are still full, probably having their own meetings as well. She returns with Jeonghan in tow, least to say, he does not look pleased.

“You feel guilty, don’t you?” Jeonghan gives him a once over, “And an extra tip? Really? How bad _do_ you feel?”

Smart. Perceptive. Snippy. Straight to the point. “Are you a Mass Com major?”

“Did you google me?”

“No,” Seungcheol rolls his eyes (he tried but he didn’t really have him last name and he didn’t feel like clicking through the dozens of Jeonghan’s that lived Cali) “I spend time with our public relations division a lot, they’re like you.”

“Well get on with, give me your money,” He holds out his hand, staring at him, waiting for the rich man to give him his extra tip he was promised.

To say Seungcheol is startled at the response is an understatement. Nobody has ever been so blunt with this kind of situation. He envisioned more of the drama type setting where Jeonghan replies “I don’t need your money, I work hard and I don’t need money thrown at me” or “I don’t want your money, I want you to take your kid.” But nope. He really is going to take his money.

Intriguing. Jeonghan begins wiggling his fingers, waiting for the bills to land in his hand. Seungcheol’s lips turn up at the gesture. Pulling his wallet out he places two fifty dollar bills in his palms. He observes the waiter as he slides the two bills to make sure it’s as much as he thought it was before pocketing in the front of his apron. “You know, usually people take the prideful and humble approach by not accepting money from the selfish rich people.”

“You forgot stupid,” Jeonghan adds, “And the people who don’t take the money are stupid. You throw around money like it’s no big deal and if you’re having giveaways than more for me. I work hard. I know it. I repressed the urge to shove your streak down your throat. I earned it. Plus, I also do need the money.”

Seungcheol shoves his hands in his pockets. This is actually one of the first time someone has ever spoke to him in such an aggressive manner over money. It’s not just aggressive, it is extremely truthful as well. He looks around the restaurant at the high chandeliers and fancy table cloths. “I thought you hated rich people? Why do you work here?”

He sees Jeonghan relax a bit when he leans on the podium, “It’s because I work here, I hate rich people. Most of them treat us like shit, blame us for every little mistake, some even call us the help… But your dad’s one of the few.”

Seungcheol’s eyebrows fly up, ready to defend his dad until Jeonghan cuts him off unknowingly, “He actually treats me, Joshua and all the other waiters like human beings. He tips well and actually says please and thank you. You know how rare it is to get a please in this kind of business?”

Maybe talking to Jeonghan was a mistake. If he felt guilty when he first saw him, he feels even guiltier now. “How long have you been working here?”

“Two years,” He sighs, tiredness evident in his eyes, “Listen, just go back to your business table, I’m going to go back to work. Thanks for the extra tip. Although it wasn’t necessary.”

Again, he finds himself watching as Jeonghan saunters out of his sight behind the closed doors of the kitchen. Sitting back down between his best friend and his dad, Jihoon eyes him carefully and his dad leans closer to him, “I saw you talking to our waiter, you didn’t scare him off, did you?”

“No, I just… I just gave him an extra tip.”

“My boy,” He pats his back, “Didn’t have to do that since I always give him extra anyway. I always ask for Jeonghan since he never messes anything up, two years Cheol. Looks like he’s gonna go home a bit richer than he started.” His father chuckles. But he couldn’t bring himself to laugh as well.

 

 

***

 

 

A week after their encounter at the restaurant, he’s sent to do some scouting in Korea Town for some land his father could buy. Seungcheol isn’t usually the one to offer to do things for the company, but he’s just been trying to distract himself from the possibility that he could be a father. Drinking is off the table since that’s what got him into this mess in the first place (stupid twenty-year-old Seungcheol) and eating out wasn’t an option either since Jeonghan could work there as well.

Passing by a small bookstore, he spots this book through the display window his mother had searching for everywhere. It’s a limited-edition copy and even though she had the money to buy the overpriced ones online that were being resold, she didn’t have the heart to buy it. 

“Those people are swindlers. I’d rather buy it off of someone more honest and reasonable. Because if they know they could sell it for more but choose not to, they’re the kindest.”

So, he enters the store, making a bee-line straight for the book, looking at the price. _‘Happy early birthday mom!’_

Jogging to the counter, he’s met with a middle-aged woman, maybe in her early fifties. The lady smiles warmly at him. “How can I help you today?”

“Just this book,” he grins, a little bounce in his step. It transforms into a toothy smile when she mentions how there was no way he was buying this for himself. “My mom’s been looking everywhere for it.”

“Well you’re the sweetest thing, aren’t you?” She laughs ringing it up. He’s about to respond when his heart nearly drops. There’s a picture on the counter behind the woman, framed. It’s of her and two other people and a baby. The girl’s face (the one holding the baby) looks familiar but he recognizes the other one. It was Jeonghan but with shorter hair than it was now.

Pointing to the photo, he tries to sound curious more than panicked, “Is that your family?”

“Oh? Those kids? No, but in a way, yes,” she chuckles as she swipes his card, “The boy, I’ve known him since he was in diapers. He has some family issues so I’ve been looking out for him. He works here so in return I give him a paycheck and watch his little girl.”

“His?”

“Well not really,” She shakes her head, “the girl is her mother. But about five months ago she just dropped them like flies. Poor boy. He’s raising her like she’s his own.”

The woman hands him his card and the paper bag with the book inside. Accidentally making eye contact, she blinks at him, as if a lightbulb had gone off in her head. “You and Jae have the same eyes...” 

Seungcheol’s fight or flight response kicks in, choosing to run away from the situation. Literally. He runs out of the store and straight to his car across the street. Tossing the gift on the passenger seat he drops his head on his steering wheel. “I am so fucked.”

Of all places to find, of all streets to walk on, of all stores to go into! Jeonghan had to be there! Technically he wasn’t there, but he usually is! _‘God really is bitch slapping me in the face.’_

As if it pains him, he starts his car, ready to get the hell out of there, but of course God wasn’t through with him just yet. He sees Jeonghan walking down the sidewalk where he just ran from, with a little girl by his side, holding his hand. She’s swinging their arms back and forth as she took big steps to avoid all the cracks. That’s Jae.

He watches closer when Jae tugs on Jeonghan’s arm, getting him to bend down to eye level with her. A brief conversation between them occurs before the long-haired man picks her up off the floor and carries her all the way to the bookstore. 

Seungcheol’s heart melts at the sight. _‘That’s my kid?_ ’ shaking his head, he berates himself for thinking it was true. Because it’s not. It’s not his.

 

 

***

 

 

Two weeks after, Seungcheol almost forgets that he could possibly have a daughter. Almost as in, not at all. 

The heir is thinking about her and Jeonghan constantly. By constantly, he means every single freaking day. Every time he seems a dad with his kid, he thinks about the little girl with Jeonghan. Jae? Was that her name? He didn’t even know why.

That’s also a lie. Yes, he did. It was when the lady from the store had suggested that his eyes looked exactly like the little girl’s. Now all he wanted to do was meet her and see just who his offspring is.

But it’s when he needs a quick pick me up after work. He decides that he’s going to go back to the old bookstore, maybe talk to the old lady once more to try to get more answers. That’s his plan, until he runs into Jeonghan once again. He sees him sitting at a table in the corner with the little girl – his supposed daughter – in the chair in front of him. They’re really hard to miss since they’re such a unique duo – a little three-year-old and a grad-student who looks too young to be a father.

“Please Wonwoo, I have work tonight. No not at the bookstore, the restaurant-” Jeonghan releases a sigh, “it’s your anniversary. Crap I forgot. I’m sorry no, it’s fine you guys enjoy.”

He drops his head, his hair collapsing around him. He lifts his head slightly, resting his chin on top of his text book to look at the three-year-old coloring inside a random blank page of his notebook. “I’m so glad you’re close to being potty-trained.”

Jae looks up from her masterpiece and giggles. Jeonghan scrunches his nose playfully. Diapers were a hassle and expensive, so he is one step closer to saving some more money. 

“Hani look!” She struggles lifting up the notebook in her little hands, “it’s a cookie!” It was a crude image of a bunch of squiggles in a circle and random dots all over the paper. 

“Wow! That’s great Jae!” He sat up, “Can you try to draw me now?”

The little toddler holds the pen out, pretending as if she knew what she was doing before turning to a new page.

_‘Who just lets a twenty-two-year-old raise a kid by himself- Oh wait...’_

Seungcheol squeezes his eyes shut, a bit annoyed at himself for not being able to be a total heartless bitch. Deciding his coffee can wait as he approaches the two.

“Jeonghan.”

The long-haired brunet looks away from the toddler, shock written all over his face when he sees Seungcheol. “What the fudge do you want?”

Seungcheol quirks an eyebrow up at his use of the word ‘fudge.’ It’s the first time in a while he’s heard someone censor themselves in that manor. “She’s three, I’m not gonna drop an ‘F’ bomb around her,” Jeonghan tosses his pencil down. “Why are you here? This isn’t a Starbucks in downtown LA. You’re pretty deep in Korea Town.” 

Completely ignoring the classist question, he pulls up a chair from another table. He sees Jae pause from her drawing when he sits down. Most likely aware of stranger danger, she gives him weary eyes. “Hani, who’s this?” 

Jeonghan’s attitude flips instantly, smiling at the little girl, “He’s someone Hani has to talk to okay, wanna listen to some music? Do you wanna listen to some Soshi?”

Jae nods her head vigorously, causing her pigtails to flap around. Once the earbuds are in, he turns it to a low volume so her ears don’t explode. Jae holds the earbuds in place as she stares at the paper in front of her, as if she’s in a trance.

“Why are you taking care of her by yourself? Doesn’t she have grandparents or something? Why did her mom leave?” The younger looks far from amused, a bit unwilling to answer the questions. Why is he asking them now and not when he was at his penthouse actually asking for help? “Because it doesn’t make any sense. It seems a bit unfair to ask someone who just passed the legal drinking age to raise a kid.” Seungcheol doesn’t know why he’s bombarding the other with so many questions, hell, he doesn’t even know he wanted to ask these questions (another lie, he was going to ask the lady from the bookstore).

So, Jeonghan explains. At the time, Jeonghan was attending his local community college since he was only a few credits away from earning his associates degree and needed to save money while Nayoung, his high school best friend, attended a college in San Francisco. He continues by telling him about Nayoung and how she got pregnant at nineteen after going to a party with Seungcheol (her then boyfriend). Having extremely strict and traditional parents, she was kicked out of her house while around the same time Jeonghan was living on his own since he had come out to his parents, which didn’t end so well. When she received no response from the father (aka Seungcheol) she decided she wanted to keep the baby. When the baby came it was all on the two of them, raising the kid. Nayoung had dropped out of college, officially moving in with him in Los Angeles and had no intentions of going back while Jeonghan was still studying. When Jeonghan was working and going to school Nayoung took care of Jaehyun and while Nayoung worked, Jeonghan cared for Jaehyun. They had a system, a schedule and it was working out pretty well (not counting the many, many, sleepless nights they had). 

After another year, Jeonghan was able to attend UCLA, and graduate with a degree in Mass Communications, and quickly began his graduate studies.

But it all came crashing down when Nayoung broke two years later. She was offered a job as a model one day at work. She realized what she had been missing and the potential she could have obtained but three years had already passed. The mom was tired of having her life revolve around a little girl. So, she left. 

Nayoung apologized profusely to Jeonghan when he came home and all her things were packed, but the kid’s things were untouched. “Like I said before, there were two options. Adoption or I find you. And to be honest, I was more of a parent to Jae than ‘Young ever was. It was summer so I kept her. My friends took turns watching her when I had work; they all love her. But I can’t always rely on them.” Jeonghan ran his fingers through his hair, “then the semester started and I got overwhelmed. I can keep her at the bookstore job since it’s a small business and the owner knows me but when I’m waiting on tables and running back and forth at a high-end restaurant? It’s just not doable.”

“I’ll watch her.”

Fuck. He slipped. 

Jeonghan raises an eyebrow. “You? The one who is completely convinced she isn’t yours?”

He thought so too. But something in him felt obligated to. He watches the little girl who is still staring at into space, distinctly able to hear the verse to ‘Gee.’

“Yeah, I’ll do it.”

Leaving the coffee shop, Jeonghan crouches down in front of the little girl, “Baby, this is Seungcheol, he’s going to take care of you while Hani’s at work okay?”

Jae seems to be deep in thought, trying to form a sentence, “Wher-Where’s Uncle Joshy?”

“We’re working together tonight, and Uncle Wonwoo and Mingyu are doing something important tonight,” He smooths her hair down, “But I trust Seungcheol okay? I’ll pick you up tonight okay?”

The little girl looks up at Seungcheol, uncertainty written all over her face. That’s when he sees it. Her eyes. It’s just like looking into an old photograph. _‘Fuck…’_

Bending down as well to get to eye level, he smiles softly at her, “You can trust me okay?”

 

The trust came with trusting two other people he drags along to his babysitting endeavors. “This is Seokmin and this is Woozi,” he introduced her to his two best friends.

Holding onto his index finger she looks between the two new faces. “Are you Hani’s friend too?” Jihoon’s eye twitched at his childhood nickname being brought back to life, but decided to give her a white lie since he has a big feeling that they’ll probably become friends from Seungcheol’s stupidity. “Where are we?”

“A doctor’s office,” Seokmin claps his together, surpassing the urge to pinch Jae’s cheeks.

“Who’s sick?” Both automatically point to Seungcheol. They hear his name being called, and somehow manage to lure Jae inside the room with Seokmin’s rendition of ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.’

Jae watches in horror when the doctor pricks Seungcheol’s finger right in front of her. She squirms in Seokmin’s hold, not wanting to see blood.

It’s almost her turn and Seungcheol and Jihoon are trying to figure out just exactly how they’re going to get her hand free from its grasp on their friend’s finger.

“Hey Jae, do you want Seungcheol to buy you a new toy?” That seems to calm the little girl down, and stare wide-eyed at the shorter heir. The gesture seems to throw Jihoon off guard, “Dude, I swear I was just looking you in the eye.”

“OW!” All three adults scream as well – save for the doctor – from Jae’s screams. Tears begin to well up in her eyes and Jihoon begins to panic while Seokmin looks absolutely terrified.

 

"Why did they poke me!" Jae demands, successfully scaring Seokmin. It’s been almost two hours inside the private doctor’s office waiting for results and the little girl wasn’t happy at all. She has been demanding nonstop for an explanation for the pink hello-kitty Band-Aid on her finger.

Out of fright, Seokmin confesses, “Because Seungcheol’s your daddy!” Jihoon slaps a hand over his forehead. Leave it to Seokmin to submit to a three-year-old.

“He’s my daddy?”

“No!”

“No?”

“We don’t know!”

“What?”

The door reopens and Seungcheol walks out, papers in hand. The three look over, and Jae marches straight to him, “Who are you?”

Shaking his head slightly to his friends, he crouches down in front of her, a weak smile forms on his face, feeling a bit lost, “I’m your dad Jae.”

 

 

***

 

 

The guilt doesn’t go away. Instead it eats him up from the inside out. Not only did he turn away someone who works day and night and takes care of his kid, he called him a liar as well. And above everything else, he has a kid. A daughter. That is actually his. For three years.

Opening the door when he hears knocking at eleven at night, he already knows it’s Jeonghan. He’s the only one (and was the last one to do so). “I’m in.” The statement seems to have blind-sided Jeonghan, since it takes him a good minute to respond to Seungcheol’s greeting. “I’ll take her in. I’m her dad and I can’t leave her.”

“What brought this on?”

“Her eyes, cheeks,” Seokmin chimes in from the kitchen dreamily.

“A blood test,” Jihoon throws out there as well earning a smack from Seokmin.

“You blood tested her?!” He barges inside looking for Jae.

“I wanted to make sure she’s really my daughter and not turn into some random drama where I grow attached and it turns out not to be my child and she ends up leaving me for her real parents,” Seungcheol tries to defend himself. “Also, you two get out.”

His two best friends grumble at the forceful and sudden eviction. He knew they wanted to watch whatever show they were about to put on, but Seungcheol knew that it wasn’t the time to amuse them.

The waiter accepts his declaration but what he says next seems to puzzle him, “Do you have a spare room I can use?”

“Why?”

“Seungcheol, look around you and look at yourself,” Jeonghan motions towards the penthouse. The wine case, sharp corners, liquor cart, flat screen didn’t really scream family friendly, “You don’t know how to be a dad. I said it before, I love Jae and I’m not going to leave her with someone who doesn’t know how to take care of her.”

He understands where Jeonghan’s coming from, but living with him? “So, what now?”

“I’m not leaving until you’re actually ready to be a dad.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NEW STORY! This one's a good one I promise. Last time I felt this proud of a story it was SML sooo I hope you all enjoy this and sorry for any mistakes.  
> (Follow me on Twitter @HVCHW3 :D)


	2. The Gravity of it All

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seungcheol has to adjust to the new life he's gotten himself into

“When’s her birthday?” Seungcheol carries some boxes inside the penthouse labeled “Baby J’s Clothes.” After dropping by Jeonghan’s old flat, he’s positive he wanted Jaehyun to live in his penthouse. It wasn’t that it was a bad apartment, it was rather homey, but it was small and he felt better knowing they were at his place.

“May eight,” Jeonghan replies from the spare bedroom.

He looks at his daughter who’s watching the Mickey Mouse Club House on his couch, and smiles but is struck with a realization. “Jeonghan I have a question. How’d you find me?”

“Followed the trail of broken hearts; literally,” He says, “I was already trying to figure out where I could find you when a girl at the hotel bar was crying about how she missed her shot at striking gold with you because you dumped her.”

What kind of dumb luck does Jeonghan obtain? Impressed none the less, he stares at a rather small box labeled “toys” he calls Jeonghan once more.

“What’s up?” He dusts his hands off on his worn jeans, coming out of the bedroom.

“She’s three… Shouldn’t she have more toys than this?”

“Nope. All her toys are given to her,” Jeonghan shrugs, “I have bills, food, my car and pull-ups to pay for. I only buy her stuff for Christmas and her birthday.”

“Your parents really cut you off?” Seungcheol scrunches his eyebrows together, “All of it?” It sounds preposterous that someone could kick out their own child over something they can’t change or have control of.

“I still have my savings only because I withdrew almost all of it before I came out. I knew how they’d react.” The long-haired male heads to the kitchen, unpacking all of Jae’s dishes and cups. Motioning Seungcheol towards him, the older jogs over. Jeonghan holds up a red plastic cup and a yellow plate that has Winnie-the-Pooh and piglet on it, “This is her favorite cup and her favorite plate. She doesn’t have to eat from it all the time, but it’ll make her eat faster since she likes seeing the little characters. But she has to drink out of this cup or a mug or else she won’t drink anything.”

“Why a mug?”

“She sees me drink coffee out of a mug so it makes her feel grown up,” Jeonghan shakes his head a bit when he places her specific silverware in an empty cabinet Seungcheol cleared out the other night. Something in him seemed to have switched on and he tried to make as much room for Jeonghan and Jae. “So if you do end up giving her a mug, just watch out for her and hold it for her since she still isn’t strong enough to hold it up.”

That’s how they spent the morning. Jeonghan going through the basics of his daughter and how she liked certain things, and different temperaments she held. They even baby proofed the penthouse, with rubbers over the corners, because “Jae’s a runner and a klutz at the same time.”

It’s weird. Extremely. One day he’s living his life, walking around shirtless alone in his penthouse. Now he has a daughter and another guy who’s teaching him how to be a father. Life really wanted to bite him in the ass.

Although him and Jeonghan are a bit awkward still since they haven’t really established a friendship. What made it even more difficult was the fact that they’ve known each other less than a month and here they are living together.

“So, you’re my daddy?” Jae sits on the couch, hugging a pink a white teddy bear.

“Yes…” Even though it’s a fact, Seungcheol says it with an unsure voice. “Offspring.”

“What’s offspring?”

“You are,” He can’t help but smile at the adorable way she repeated the word.

The little girl nods in slight understanding, “Are- Are you-going to leave too?” She stumbles over her words like every toddler does. But she seems to have the impression of someone who’s been through a lot.

It catches him off guard. Nobody expects a question like that from a three-year-old. Granted her past relations with her other parent did end up with her being alone. “No, I won’t leave you alone.”

“Not…” she trips over her words again, mouth going fast than what she’s trying to say. It isn’t until she repeats herself again that Seungcheol sits there, stumped at the question, “Not. Me. Hani alone. You’re not going to leave Hani alone too?”

He looks back at Jeonghan, headphones in his ears while reading his textbook. He had an hour before getting ready for work and there he is, studying on his only free time. “I won’t leave him alone.”

 

 

***

 

 

The two fell into this automatic cycle. And by cycle, it means Seungcheol doing something and Jeonghan abruptly interrupting telling him he’s doing something wrong.

  

Seungcheol’s pushed into one of the bar stools forcibly, Jeonghan standing on the other side of the counter, fruits arranged strangely on top. With a serious face, he holds up an orange and blueberry, “Lesson one, she’s the sun. and you’re just another planet the revolves around her. As of now, you’re Pluto.”

To say he isn’t a tad bit insulted would be a lie. “Pluto’s not even a planet?”

“Exactly, I don’t know how long you’re here for,” he says the last part softly, “And I have to be ready for when you bail.”

“I’m here to stay.”

“So you say.”

 

“Lesson two,” Jeonghan screams in Seungcheol’s ear holding Jae in his arms. Both laugh when her dad flinches awake, “When baby wakes up, you wake up.” The long-haired man twirls out of the room making Jae giggle even more.

Seungcheol turns to the clock, the red numbers blinking at him, eight in the morning. What the hell. “Why does a kid wake up at this time?”

“A kid who’s potty-training,” Jeonghan sings a reply, completely satisfied that the dad is finally out of bed.

 

“Lesson five,” Jeonghan almost falls to the ground, laughing. He’d just gotten back from an afternoon shift from the hotel to see Seungcheol’s arms and face drawn on with Crayola markers, “Don’t fall asleep if she’s doodling.”

Throwing the blue stained paper towels at him he tries to feign anger, but really, he just tried to suppress his laughter, “You think this is funny?” Seungcheol points to the glasses on his face and a crude drawing of a butterfly on his forearm. “You could’ve warned me!” he glares at his daughter who’s innocently drawing in her notepad as if she did no wrong – although her blue-stained hands said otherwise.

 

A month later, somehow, they’re already on lesson twenty-two. But this time, it’s for Jeonghan.

“You don’t cook?”

“I do too!” Jeonghan defends himself, wiping cheese from Jae’s lips, “Pancakes, Mac and cheese, cereal, sausage, vegetables and McDonald’s.”

He turns to his daughter, completely scandalized. “Is that what Hani feeds you?”

“Uncle Josh and Uncle Mingyu are the ones who… cook me healthy things.”

Seungcheol feels pride bubbling up inside him. He’s finally found something Jeonghan can’t do, “Can you at least make scrambled eggs?”

“They’re not good,” Jae giggles, biting into her Mac and Cheese.

Forcing Jeonghan to stand up, he pulls him to the kitchen. “That’s why I never made them for you ever again,” Jeonghan shoots back defensively at the little girl, “Ungrateful little troll.”

“I’m going to teach you how to cook an omelet.”

“Oho,” He looks at the dad-in-the-making with annoyance and amazement, “Rich baby knows how to cook? Would you look at that Jae!”

“Would you look at that!” She repeats with even more enthusiasm, clapping her hands together.

“I can teach you how to cook steak flambé, but we gotta start off with the basics honey,” He teases, pulling out a pan. Jeonghan purses his lips at the challenge, having a mini stare off with Seungcheol before taking the pan from his grasp.

Jae sat on the bar stool (a booster seat attached to it), watching over the counter as her dad teaches her guardian how to cook. “Now what do you do?”

“You just dump it on the pan, right?” He the long-haired man asks as if it’s the simplest thing in the world.

Seungcheol laughs, taking the chopping board filled with diced tomatoes, onions, turkey and spinach, “You add salt to the egg before dumping in the pan,” he sprinkles some salt in it, pouring the beaten eggs into the pan, “Now when it’s fluffy, that’s when you can dump the rest onto the egg.”

“That’s so easy!”

“And yet you didn’t know how to do it.” The older chuckles when Jeonghan did a little excited dance with the spatula. He ruffles the other’s hair, before sitting down next to his daughter to watch him finish it off.

“Turkey!” Jae chants excitedly when Jeonghan’s putting the turkey on top of the egg.

Before Seungcheol could even ask, Jeonghan explains that his daughter loves turkey more than anything. “She gets it from Nayoung.” He leans to the side, carefully trying to slide the spatula under the fluffy egg.

Staring down his daughter, he wonders what traits she could have gotten from him (besides the copy and paste eyes).

After dinner and Jeonghan’s good first attempt at making an omelet (“Six out of ten.” “What? I fudging deserve a perfect score!”) Seungcheol’s left with dishes to clean while Jeonghan showers. A chime of a phone grabs his attention, worried it might be his dad or mom, he shakes his hands dry just to wipe them on his sweats, but he has no notifications. Turning around, he finds Jeonghan’s phone lit up. Grabbing it, he goes to knock on the bathroom door to tell him he got a message but what strikes him is that the message and sender was written in Korean.

Seungcheol didn’t mean to snoop, but he’s curious. But in the end, he’s left confused because it says, “Happy birthday!” and “Miss you big bro!”

Last time he checked, Jeonghan’s never mentioned a sister nor it being his birthday.

Putting the phone back where he found it, he unlocks his own phone to check the calendar. It’s the third of October.

The door to the bathroom opens, Jeonghan quietly walking out, scared to wake Jae up, his long hair still pretty wet.

“It’s your birthday today?”

The question apparently startled the grad-student as well since it’s as if he didn’t know it either, “It’s the fourth already?! I forgot again?”

Dumbfounded, Seungcheol watches as Jeonghan hurries to his phone, “No your sister texted… what do you mean forgot again?”

“No wonder Sorn told me she’d slit my throat if she saw me near the hotel tomorrow…” he mumbles, rushing a reply to his sister.

“I didn’t know you even had a sister.”

“Because she’s studying in Korea instead of Cali,” Jeonghan sighs. “I have a lot to do so I tend to forget.”

“Jeonghan,” Seungcheol starts, “We’re living together, you’re helping me raise my daughter, but yet I know absolutely nothing about you other than what college you go to, where you work, you suck at cooking and that your birthday is tomorrow.”

“I mean, I know you’re gonna be a CEO, I know your birthday, and I know you’re still a sub-par dad.”

Seungcheol manages to crack a smile at his jab. It’s weird. How they became comfortable with each other. They’d only really spend the mornings together when Jeonghan was getting ready for class and night time when Jeonghan didn’t have to work. Whereas on Jeonghan’s off days where he has not class and gets to work at the bookstore, Seungcheol’s in the office learning the ins and outs of running a corporation.

So the little time they spend together isn’t really for a “get to know you” type time. It’s the time to test Seungcheol and see if he’s capable and knowledgeable of how to do Jae’s hair or getting the routine intact. Sometimes there are the mini jabs at each other mostly since the situations call for it, a mingling of personalities; luckily for them, their personalities fit well with one another. That’s the bigger and better indicator that lets someone know if things will run smoothly, not how much you know about their history and personal life.

Although they’ve both picked up some habits and tellers of each other. Like how Seungcheol noticed that whenever Jeonghan’s in the zone whether it be studying or working, he tied his hair up and how when Jae gets sleepy, she tends to zone out.

Jeonghan picks up on how he knows Seungcheol’s going to give in to a request; if he’s close to breaking, he licks his lips. Also, he takes note of a how the older has an excellent temper and patience level; a trait Jae apparently inherited from him. Usually Jeonghan would want to pull his hear out from how level-headed and uncompliant Jae is with him in some situations, Seungcheol manages to handle with such ease.

“Well, it’s midnight, so, happy birthday Jeonghan,” Seungcheol places a hand on the other’s head stroking his hair before departing to his room.

 

 

 ***

 

 

Taking care of a kid flipped Seungcheol’s life over completely. It’s been a bit over three months since the start of his “training” and he hasn’t told many people about. He’s been turning down invites to go out for drinks, taking home fewer women, not flirting with as many guys as he used to. And he’s oddly okay with it.

The only two people in his life who knew were Jihoon and Seokmin since they were there when he found out.

“So you’ve just been chilling and hanging out with Jae?” Jihoon pours himself a glass of water from Seungcheol’s fridge.

“Yup, just trying to get acquainted with the spawn.” Seungcheol took the chance to call his daughter that since Jeonghan had scolded him the other about not calling his child “spawn” or “offspring” as a term of endearment.

“You’ve been missing out on some fun nights man.”

“You’re not missing much,” Seokmin voice is distant and muffled. Soon after the soft pattering of Jae’s running echoed in the penthouse as she pulled open the pantry door giggling when Seokmin screamed, “No! You got me!”

The two have been playing an intense game of hide-and-seek for the past thirty minutes, and Seokmin doesn’t hold a candle to the toddler’s hiding skills.

He swoops down and picks her up, flying her over to the couch before sitting down next to his best friends. “What does this cutie want for Christmas? Do you want a teddy bear? Or maybe a doll? How about a monster truck?”

“She doesn’t want those basic things,” Jihoon scoffs, “Jae, Uncle Jihoon can get you a car. Want a car?”

“I want McDonalds for a whole week!” She says excitedly.

The two give both the father and daughter a peculiar look, it’s a child’s answer but a bit different. “Jae baby, go get Mister Pinkie, I’m sure Uncle Seokmin wants to see that!” Seungcheol pats her leg. They all watch as she climbs off the couch and heads to her shared room with Jeonghan. “She may be three but her grasp on reality is insane,” he whispers to them, “She deadass knows that Jeonghan doesn’t have much money so she doesn’t expect toys at all.”

“Bless her heart,” Seokmin pouts placing his hand on his chest.

“Dibs on dollhouse!” Jihoon immediately locks in his Christmas present, enjoying the displeased look on his friends’ faces. Obviously Seokmin has had his heart set on buying her one while Seungcheol had no idea what to get his own daughter.

“Uncle Minnie, this is Mister Pinkie!” Jae ran back holding her favorite stuffed animal out to them. The three began admiring it, and coddling her.

It’s safe to say that Seokmin and Jihoon had begun to grow a soft spot for the little girl. Both often competing on who gets to pamper her more, although Seokmin usually beat Jihoon out since he’s the more vocal one about loving Jae.

“How’s it like living with Jeonghan though?” The shorter of the three asks when Seokmin began another round of hide-and-seek, this time, including Mister Pinkie.

“It’s actually been going great. I swear it’s like he’s her dad, it’s amazing,” Seungcheol leans back, “Jae loves him so much, I have no idea what I’m gonna do when he leaves.”

“Where is he? It’s almost eleven?” he checks his watch.

“He should be home soon, but he said he’s going to be studying all night for his finals,” Seungcheol eyes the wall clock before focusing back on his guest. “You haven’t told anyone back at the office about Jae yet, right?”

“Nah… They’ve been assuming you’ve been out with a different crowd lately and have been too lazy or hungover to come to work.”

Seungcheol scowls at the assumptions. They all made him sound like some narcissistic douche. Just because he likes drinking and going out doesn’t mean shit when it comes to his personality. When he needed to get something done, he’ll get it done. He knows when to take responsibility for his actions and he knows when to submit to authority. He enjoys nights in, sleeping or watching some random angst movie on Netflix. Himself as a whole isn’t a party animal; it’s usually him being invited out and him agreeing, but he wouldn’t be the one to offer to go out. Having that kind of rich boy image just didn’t sit well with him.

“Did you tell Soonyoung?”

“Who the hell do you think I am?” Jihoon scoffs for the umpteenth time, “Of course I told Soonyoung. Freaking idiot. Why wouldn’t I tell him?”

Jihoon and Soonyoung have been dating since their second year of college. Never have Seokmin and Seungcheol seen him so smitten over anybody in their entire lives. Soonyoung was in Jihoon’s Calculus class and had asked for some spare batteries since his calculator died. Being callus was the future CFO’s go to when it came to people he didn’t know well, so he had said no even though he did have batteries. But the cold nature didn’t seem to wear down Soonyoung’s bright and “sunshine all around” personality. His two best friends had teased him endlessly when they found out about the “adorable Korean in Calc,” and as a result he had marched up to him the next day and asked (demanded) him out on a date. It worked since four years later they’re still together and tell each other everything.

“I’m back,” Jeonghan calls entering the flat, letting Joshua inside as well, “Is Jae still awake?”

Seungcheol cranes his neck a bit, trying to find his daughter, “Yeah, she’s playing with Seokmin.” He gives the new face a small wave as his form of greeting.

He watches as the two waiters grin at each other. “Jae, come here I have a surprise for you!”

The little girl comes out of Seungcheol’s room - Uncle Seokmin was not hiding in there - eyes immediately brightening when they land on Joshua. “Uncle Joshy!”

“Baby J!” Joshua drops his bag to the floor as he crouches down to catch the running toddler in his arms.

For old times sakes, he lets Joshua get Jae ready for bed since they haven’t really seen each other since they moved in with Seungcheol. She’s missed Joshua a lot, but never really verbally said anything.

As Joshua and Jae were catching up with each other, Jeonghan plops down on the couch next to Seungcheol, dress shirt untucked and brown hair out of the restraining pony-tail. “Josh would always help me take care of Jae before. She loves him a lot.”

Something inside Seungcheol twists a bit. Maybe it’s jealousy. He didn’t know why. But the sight of his daughter getting all excited to see someone and to hear how much she loves them didn’t feel right to him. Probably because she hasn’t exactly done any of those things with him. If anything, she treated him like a glorified baby sitter. Jae wouldn’t get all excited to see him like she did with Joshua or when Jeonghan gets home.

“Ummm?” Seokmin grumbles crawling out from under the couch, successfully freaking Jeonghan out, “Did I win? Did she finally give up?”

Calming his heart, Jeonghan greets Seokmin before telling him that Joshua’s tucking her in.

“Who the hell is Joshua? She can’t just leave me alone, I could’ve hidden all night,” Seokmin marches straight towards their room. Not even two minutes later, he comes running back, sliding on the floor, on his knees in front of Jeonghan, eyes unusually bright, “Like I said who is Joshua? How old is he? Asking for a friend.”

“My best friend,” Jeonghan replies amused, “He’s turning twenty-four in two weeks. Accounting major.”

Almost instantly, Seokmin turns to Seungcheol, eyes fired up with determination, “I swear to god Choi Seungcheol, when your dad finally gives you the company and you’re choosing your team by the time they graduate and you _don’t_ hire Joshua, I will end your life and be the _worst_ COO you’ll ever have.”

The numbers seemed to add up. The two grad-students would graduate in two years time, and he was assured the company by the time he’s twenty-six.

“Just go ask him out instead of forcing me to hire someone just so you can ogle at them when I don’t even know his credentials,” Seungcheol drops his head on the back couch.

“Undergrad at Santa Barbra, interned with Capitol One bank, went back for his gap year and is currently getting his masters at LA,” Jeonghan announces as if it was common knowledge. 

Seungcheol stares at the ceiling for a bit, contemplating before nodding, “Yeah okay, he’s in the running. But I still think you should make a move and not wait two years to run into him in the office and go 'Oh hey, Joshua right?'”

“Jeonghan,” Seokmin beams at him, asking sweetly, “Is Joshua interested in dashingly rich future Chief of operation officers by any chance? You handsome, handsome man.”

“Bi.”

“Bi like what? Bi as in ‘he swings both ways’ or bye as in ‘Bye Seokmin, I’m done with you’?”

“Well this our cue to leave,” Jihoon stands yanking the love-struck puppy by the ear. “Jeonghan, are you working Friday night?”

“That’s when the best tips come in,” He nods with satisfaction.

“Alright, see you then,” He waves, “You’ll get to meet Soonyoung. We’re having dinner with his parents before the holidays.”

Both Seungcheol and Jeonghan bid their goodbyes to the two, although Seokmin left quite reluctantly since he still wanted to see if Joshua would be responsive to a cheesy pick-up line.

Seungcheol’s best friends became quick friends with Jeonghan since he has such an easy-going personality. They thoroughly enjoyed his laid-back yet serious attitude which contrasted with Seungcheol’s childish yet high-strungness.

“Want me to put in a good word to Josh about Seokmin?” Jeonghan tils his head on the couch to get Seungcheol in his line of vision.

“I think he’d cry tears of joy if you did.” He nudges his long-haired roommate.

“Hey, Jae’s asleep right now,” Joshua walks out.

Seungcheol gives the two of them a curious look, as if she fell asleep too fast. Jeonghan simply laughs, patting him on the shoulder, “Lesson forty-five I think… Nobody can put her to sleep faster than her Uncle Josh.”

 

 

*** 

 

 

And just like that, five more months have flown by. They weren’t easy though. Seungcheol has become a lot closer with his daughter thankfully, but for the entirety of April he was pulled away from Los Angeles to Texas for a mandatory conference with Jihoon and Seokmin. He apologized profusely to Jeonghan and Jaehyun especially since it was the most hectic month since it was finals once more.

“Don’t worry about me, I still have Miss Eugene and Mingyu, they miss Jae, so go. It’s for work, future CEO,” he handed some of his clean clothes. Jeonghan didn’t just help take care of Jae, he helped take care of Seungcheol too.

He reassured that he’d be back a couple of days before his daughter’s birthday thankfully.

So he attended the conference, an entire month worth of seminars, meetings, mingling and making acquaintances with future business leaders. It was their last night there when Jihoon and this other attendee had approached him. “Cheol come on, it’s your last night of freedom, enjoy it.”

“Oh? You got someone waiting for you at home,” The other, his name is Jackson, nudges his chest teasingly.

“Not just anyone,” Jihoon lifts his champagne glass to his lips, “He has a daughter.”

“No fucking way, dude you’re twenty-four, that’s insane,” Jackson leans back, snatching another glass from a waiter’s tray, giving it to the young father, “You need this.”

“Shut up,” Seungcheol chuckles, sipping the alcohol, “You have Soonyoung waiting for you too.”

“Yes, but here’s the thing. I can go drinking with him. You can’t do that with a toddler running around.”

“Come on, let loose dad,” Jackson pressed on.

It has been a long time since he really has gone out. His world has been revolving around Jae and work and this month has been the first time in almost eight months that he’s gotten a break from her. So he accepts.

There’s no harm indulging himself this once.

 

  

Unlocking his Penthouse door, he’s unsure if his daughter would be awake or not. It’s nine at night so she should just be watching reruns of power rangers. It’s been too long since he’s seen his own bed and Jeonghan and Jae’s face. They’d only call and not FaceTime since the quality would always would always be bad.

Entering, he hears the theme song of the show playing, knowing well that his daughter is wide awake. Quietly, he closes the door and gently places his bags on the floor. Apparently, Jae’s hearing is impeccable since her head shoots straight to the door, spotting her dad. “Daddy!” She climbs off the couch, running to him, tackling him and clinging to his legs.

Seungcheol feels his heart warm up at the action. He’s never garnered this kind of reaction from his daughter and the mere fact that she missed him makes him really happy. He must be doing something right.

Bending down, he picks her up to carry her, instantly she throws her arms around his neck, squeezing him, “I missed you.”

Kissing her cheek, he smiles at her, “I missed you too. How are you? What did you do while daddy was away?”

“Me and Miss Eugene went to the park a lot. Hani’s been giving me a lot of McDonald’s and kept telling me not to tell daddy,” Jae covers her mouth after she unintentionally confesses. It’s not like Seungcheol didn’t know. He had left Jeonghan one of his cards for emergencies and saw the many charges from the fast food chain. The heir figured it was going to happen since Jeonghan would be studying non-stop and have no time to really make food for the two of them.

“JJ, your bubble bath is ready,” Jeonghan calls, stepping out of the bathroom. But when the two finally see each other both are extremely floored.

Turns out that Jeonghan forgot that Seungcheol arrived home tonight while Seungcheol is stunned by the change of appearance since he’s last seen him.

“You’re back.”

“You cut your hair.”

Instinctually, Jeonghan runs his hand through his hair. It’s short. As in. It’s short. There’s absolutely no length in the back while the brown hair was only a bit long the front, framing his face and an under cut.

“Umm yeah, I thought it was about time to get rid of it.”

Seungcheol’s an honest man. He knew how good-looking Jeonghan is. He’s extremely attractive and was with long hair. But nothing prepared him to witness short brown hair on him.

“Doesn’t Hani look good?” Jae rubs her hands on his cheeks.

“Yeah… Yup. He does.”

He really did, he tried really hard not to stare. But he did.

 

 

***

 

 

“Happy birthday!” Soonyoung dances inside the penthouse with a very big present in hand. Everyone inside laughs at Jae’s reaction, her mouth going wide when it’s put down with all the gifts.

“Uh! Han!” Wonwoo protests pointing to the gift, “This is a foul. He’s not allowed to out-do the God Father!” he points to himself.

It turns out that Soonyoung and Wonwoo go way back, being high school best friends up in San Francisco before Soonyoung went to Stanford and Wonwoo moved down to Los Angeles moving into the flat next to Jeonghan’s old one.

“Doesn’t matter who you are because nobody does gifts better than the actual dad,” Seungcheol challenges receiving a crumpled-up napkin from Wonwoo.

“But wait,” Jihoon lifts the birthday girl off her feet, carrying her over to Seungcheol and Wonwoo to taunt them, “Jae, who got you the doll house for Christmas? Your favorite Uncle, right?” He took her arm and used it to whack Wonwoo’s face causing her to erupt in giggles.

Seokmin came barging into the flat seconds later, hair whipped to one side from the wind. “I’m not late, right? Josh isn’t here yet?”

Jeonghan stifles a laugh, taking the gift bag out of his hands, “No, Josh is just picking up his parents.” He laughs harder when Seokmin visibly freezes. He’s planning on finally confessing to Joshua tonight but apparently was not informed that the parents of the “love of his life” are attending the party.

Unlike Jeonghan’s parents, Joshua’s are more accepting when it comes to sexuality. So, their relationship is much better and only occasionally would Jeonghan leave Jae in their care, only when he’s desperate since they were doctors and have an intense schedule.

Even though they are more than willing to help Jeonghan out in any way possible, he appreciates them a lot but he doesn’t want that kind of burden on them.

“I promise Josh is into you man,” Jeonghan tries to reassure him, “If you don’t ask him out first, he’ll probably end up asking you out.”

The Hong family ends up showing up as soon as the conversation ends. His mother gushes about Jeonghan’s new hair and how he managed to upgrade from that shabby apartment to a Penthouse with a view.

“I’m just living with Seungcheol, he’s Jae’s dad.”

“Jae’s father?” She sounds a bit worried. “The MIA one?”

Nodding he waves over Seungcheol, who has a drink in his hand (not a good first impression to the closest thing to grandparents Jae has besides Seungcheol’s). “This Seungcheol. He’s the heir of the CSC company.”

“Well it seems like Nayoung struck gold with you,” He glares.

“Dad,” Joshua hisses, overhearing the conversation. His mom leads Jeonghan away from Seungcheol towards the couches while the he stays where is in front of Joshua’s dad. The feeling resembles meeting a significant other’s parents.

“You’re helping Hani raise little J?” Seungcheol hesitantly nods while sipping his drink. Josh might be Satan’s soft spoken spawn, but his father is truly terrifying him at the moment. “How long have you been with Jeonghan?”

“A-about eight months sir,” He stutters, “He’s been helping me so I can be a good dad to Jae.”

“Well I hope you know Jeonghan has been doing this since he was nineteen. You better not be putting more stress on him than needed.”

“That’s the last thing I want to do sir.”

“Are you making him pay rent? You’re a rich guy Seungcheol, it’d be a damn shame if you did.”

“He thinks he is,” Seungcheol’s eyes flicker towards Jeonghan who’s talking to Joshua’s mom and Mingyu. “You obviously know Jeonghan well. He has pride so I tell him its three-hundred a month, but I really don’t cash in his checks.” Seungcheol steps backwards a bit, reaching underneath the countertop, revealing a hidden drawer. “I hide them in here. He hasn’t spent a dime on this flat.”

That fact brought a small grin to the older man’s face, “Three-hundred seems a bit underpriced for this place.”

“It is. It costs twenty grand a month. Jeonghan’s giving me something priceless, and there’s absolutely no way I can repay for it.”

The older Hong seems to approve of the answer and the man himself as well. “You seem like a good man.”

“It’s thanks to my parents’ sir,” Seungcheol smiles, “I owe them everything as well.”

 

As the party drags on, Jae ends up exhausted by nine and gets put to bed by Joshua; Seokmin takes that chance to finally get some alone time with him.

Seungcheol finds Jeonghan outside in the balcony alone, away from the loud clatters and laughing friends in the inside.

Resting his side one the railing, he nudges Jeonghan’s arm with his glass, “You good?”

Turning away from the view, Jeonghan taps his beer bottle against Seungcheol’s glass as a mini cheers, “This is one of the rare moments I’m doing absolutely nothing. Not working, not studying, not taking care of Jae since she’s asleep,” He takes another swig from the bottle, “I’m going to fucking enjoy it.”

Seungcheol grins, slightly impressed and glad to see Jeonghan so relaxed. “You didn’t say fudge.”  
“It’s passed one, and I am drunk. Last time I was able to get this wasted was when Miss Eugene offered to take care of Jae so Nayoung and I could celebrate my birthday.”

“When was that?”

“Two years ago,” He held out his fingers – Seungcheol didn’t want to correct him and tell him he’s holding out three fingers instead of two. 

“Well you deserve it,” Seungcheol praises watching him chug his beer.

“Hell fucking yeah I do,” The younger slurs a bit, “Sometimes I just want to scream, but I can’t. Because I’m too god damn busy to scream.”

“We got a trucker here,” Seungcheol muses at Jeonghan’s language. He’s never heard him cuss so it’s like a breath of fresh air. A reminder that even with him carrying the weight of the world plus a couple of other baggage on his shoulders, Jeonghan’s still human. “But that’s why I’m here remember? So I can take care of her instead you. You can finally focus on yourself.”

“I don’t trust you with Jae yet,” Jeonghan giggles, “You’re at the uncle stage right now, not dad.”

“Well at least I’m making progress.”

“Baby steps are a step forward,” the brunet sighs sadly, “I’ve been taking care of her for four years Cheol… What have I been missing?”

In the alcoholic haze, things settle in Seungcheol’s mind. Jeonghan had to grow up fast. Disowned at eighteen, raising a kid at nineteen. “Honestly, nothing,” he drops his hand on the back of the younger’s neck. “Don’t think about the past too much. Think about the future. The life that you’re going to have. The life Jae’s going to have.”

“Jae’s still going to be in my life?”

“Of course, There’s no way I’m going to keep her away from you. She probably wouldn’t let it happen either.”

“That’s good. You’re a nice man,” Jeonghan gives him a drunken smile, “Wanna know a secret?”

Seungcheol leans closer, rubbing his thumb on the nape of his neck, “Humor me baby.”

“You’re the closest thing to family I’ve had since Nayoung, and I am terrified, that you’re going to leave too,” He laughs but there’s obvious pain in his voice. “Everyone does. They’re like… Like a meteor shower. They’re nice for a while, you can see they’re there, but then all at once they disappear.”

“I’m not going to leave.”

“My sister did.”

“I’m not your sister.”

“My parents disowned me.”

“I won’t.”

“Nayoung left.”

“I’ll stay.”

“But you didn’t stay with her.”

The noise from inside drowns out as they stare at each other. Neither noticing how much closer they’ve become; so close that Jeonghan can feel Seungcheol’s hot breath on his skin.

“If you couldn’t stay with her, why should I believe that you’d stay here with m… Jae?” He leans closer, eyes not leaving the pair of lips right in front of him.

“Because she wasn’t Jae… or you.” He whispers.

If someone were to ask who leaned in first, neither would know the answer. They’re too drunk and lost in the universe to really know. Seungcheol finds it fascinating how Jeonghan’s lips are soft and sweet when he had just finished a bottle of Corona. Even if his mind is currently clouded from drinking so much, it’s enough to register Jeonghan dropping the empty bottle, grasping at the front of his shirt, pulling him closer. Seungcheol’s hand travels down the other’s spine to the small of his back, fully prepared to kiss him harder when Jeonghan pulls away.

“Wow…” The younger breathes, “I’m fucking hungry.” He blinks slightly. Patting Seungcheol on the chest, he stumbles away back inside to find himself some food.

“Shit I’m too drunk for this.”

 What the actual fuck just happened?

 

 

 ***

 

 

By the time the sun rose the next morning, Jeonghan found himself on the floor of his and Jae’s room. Mentally cursing at himself because of how soar he is. Cracking his neck and back he walks out of the room to see the mess that was left from last night’s endeavors. He grumbles as he heads over to the kitchen, pulling out a black trash bag before dumping all the beer bottles and cans inside. Ignoring the throbbing of his head, Jeonghan almost finishes with the living room when he spots an empty bottle outside and one of Seungcheol’s whiskey glasses on the mini table.

Sliding it open, he picks the empty glass and bottle up wondering just exactly how they got outside. From what he could remember nobody stepped out onto the balcony last night-

“Oh my God…”

He drops them back on the table rushing inside. He kissed Seungcheol last night. Running his hands through his hair he paces back and forth in the living room. Jeonghan grabs his phone from the countertop he immediately calls the one person he needs.

“Joshua, I fucked up. I kissed Seungcheol last night or he kissed me... I don’t know what to do, I was pretty drunk and so was he and I just kind of went for it. I didn’t realize I did that, but I do now and now I think I’m going to shunned for the rest of my life because I’m apparently too gay to function when intoxicated please call me back before I explode.”

Jeonghan ruffles his short hair. “A drunken mistake. It was a mistake. It wasn’t supposed to happen. If he asks…” he begins rubbing his eyes, “I’m a chaotic gay when I’m drunk… fuck I hate me!”

Spinning in self misery, he throws himself on the couch, burying his face in the cushions. “God! Being gay in a straight world is horrible!” he bemoans against the fabric. Slowly, he lifts his head up, resting his chin on top of his hand. Jeonghan brushes his index and middle finger against his lips. It’s the first time in a long time he’s kissed someone. And it was a straight someone too. “God please don’t let him remember that.”

Almost two minutes later, a loud stumble is heard, then a door creaking open, “Morning,” Seungcheol yawns, squinting at the bright light from the sun. Jeonghan promptly sat up, fixing his appearance, trying his best to hide the fact that he wasn’t just cursing himself out on the couch. “I have a fucking headache.”

“Aspirin is where it usually is,” Jeonghan clears his throat, going back to the balcony to grab the trash bag he left.

“What the fuck happened last night?”

The brunet stops in his tracks. _‘He’s asking what happened? He doesn’t remember?’_ Gently picking up the trash, he gives him a weary look, “You… don’t remember?”

“I remember the celebratory shot I took when Seokmin announced he asked Josh out, but after that it’s all messed up,” He gulps down the pills and water, “Did… Did I talk to one of your co-workers last night?” his face scrunches up trying to remember.

Jeonghan felt his throat dry up, “Nope,” it wasn’t a total lie. But some of his co-workers did find him attractive and asked Jeonghan to introduce them to Jae’s dad.

“Hmm… Then what the fuck am I forgetting.”

“Who knows…” Jeonghan lies through his teeth. Not wanting to admit that he wishes Seungcheol remembers their shared moment.

 

 

 ***

 

 

“No, I don’t need those papers, those get sent to management,” Seungcheol orders, frustration growing.

A couple of weeks after Jae’s birthday party things begin to fall into an easier pace. Jeonghan doesn’t have classes until August which means Seungcheol has more time to be in the office. He’s told the younger many times that he really doesn’t have to keep working as a waiter or the bookstore, but he insisted since he still has a couple thousand dollars to pay by the time he graduates even with all the scholarships he’s attained. “Student loans don't repay themselves.”

But his dad has requested for the future employers to run a mock day, where their parents shadow what they are doing and how they run things, only stepping in when needed. Seungcheol’s overwhelmed to say the less.

“Mister Choi, the meeting with the Vegas clients are in an hour,” the secretary knocks.

“Okay, remind Seokmin, he tends to forget,” He jots down the time on the notepad.

It isn’t like he doesn’t know what he’s doing, it’s more like he was thrown head first into everything he knew and is being tested. Seungcheol’s passing with flying colors but it’s just too much to handle all in one day.

By the time his day is over, he’s exhausted. Stepping out of the office building he sighs in relief.

“Hey Cheol,” One of his co-workers jogs up to him, “We’re going out for drinks, wanna come?”

Usually, he’d say no. But he remembers the freedom he had at the conference back in April; he remembers forgetting and relaxing when he drank during Jae’s birthday party. He had a taste of what being careless felt like again.

He’s tired. Stressed, and hasn’t gone out and had fun in so long. So, he chances it. He wants to have fun again, one more time. One last time before he goes back to being a dad. So, he silences his phone and gets into the cab with his old friends. Seungcheol’s positive Jeonghan would forgive him this once.

  

Jeonghan dunks the towel in the ice water wringing it out before folding it to place it over Jae’s head. After they arrived home from grocery shopping he noticed how warm she felt, only to discover her temperature spiked up to a hundred one. It didn’t help that soon after he took her temperature she began vomiting.

Jae has never gotten this sick so fast, it scared him. Calling Joshua’s mom, he’s reassured that it’s most likely just a stomach flu and all he needs to do is watch her temperature and give her medicine.

Thus, comes problem number two. Jeonghan can’t leave her alone or bring her to the pharmacy in her condition. Seungcheol isn’t home yet which leads him to problem three. He has work in two hours.

Picking up his cell phone once again, he calls Seungcheol for the tenth time.

And… Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

“Come on Seungcheol pick up....” 

“Hani, where’s daddy?”

The brunet turns to see the little girl, awake but groggy. 

“I think he’s just running late okay? A lot of meetings.”

"I want daddy..."

 

An hour later and there’s still no sign of Jae’s dad. It’s to the point where he’s already called his friends to see if they could come in but Mingyu and Wonwoo were in Hong Kong for vacation while Jihoon and Seokmin weren’t picking up at all. He even became desperate and called Soonyoung, who didn’t pick up either.

“I need better flipping friends,” he almost screams before dialing the hotel, “Hi, Sorn, I can’t come into work today,” he sighs, “I know it’s extremely last minute but my kid has the flu and her dad’s MIA, so I can’t leave. The latest I can be there is in an hour when Joshua gets off.”

There’s silence on the line and he’s about to apologize profusely until Sorn speaks again, “Her dad’s Seungcheol right?”

“Yeah, but I can’t get a hold of him, he might be caught up in meetings or something but all I know is he’s not here when he should be.”

“I’m sending Joshua home right now, okay? He’ll be there in twenty, and you can come in,” she says a bit hurried, “But you’re sure as hell not working.”

“Wait why?”

“Because Seungcheol’s at the bar area of the hotel drinking with some colleagues.”

 

Jeonghan storms inside the hotel less than an hour later, looking completely out of place in the five-star restaurant – maybe it was the skinny jeans or the extremely colorful long sleeve, but who knows right? His manager meets him half way, “I can work you know?”

“Han, we all know how hard you’re working now. You, calling out of work is extremely out of character,” she walks the same pace as he is towards the room over, “and if this jackass is making your life harder, I want you to kill him.”

There. Jeonghan blood boils even more so when he sees a girl standing next to Seungcheol, one arm carelessly thrown over his shoulder while his was around her waist. He’s laughing, taking shots, neck tie loose around his neck. Jeonghan doesn’t even hesitate to pull on his shoulder causing the drink to spill on him.

“What the hell man?” The older almost yells until he sees Jeonghan. “What are you doing here?”

Jeonghan’s eyes burn through the girl until she finally gets the hint and pulls away from him. “You mean here? In the bar next to the restaurant I work at? Hmm? I have no fucking clue!” He yells over the music. Some of Seungcheol’s friends scoot further way, not wanting to get in between him and an angry man. “I’m missing work today because you’re not home to watch _your_ daughter.”

“Listen Hani,” his words are bit slurred due to intoxication, “I just needed a night to myself, that’s all. Ever had any fun? I’ve been taking care of her nonstop, I needed a day off. It’s not that bad.”

Obviously, Seungcheol pushed a bit too far, finally causing Jeonghan to snap. He punches him square in the jaw. When he topples over, there isn’t even a look of pity in his eyes, “You son of bitch,” he looks at him with disgust, “You’re a fucking dad. You don’t get days off when you have a child. You don’t randomly get to decide when you don’t want to be one. You are one every minute of every day! Grow up and stop acting like a selfish bastard. I thought we were passed all of this!” Jeonghan almost screams, apoplectic with rage, “Apparently not since right now Joshua’s there, watching Jae who’s sick with the flu while I’m here trying to find out where her god damn father is!”

Jeonghan ignores the security guards (he knew both of them. He knows they’re doing their job out of formality; but they would have left him alone if it wasn’t so packed) “I’m here because your daughter is looking for you! But jeez, I wonder why she’s looking for you of all people!” He yells holding in the urge to kick him.

Rubbing his jaw, Seungcheol feels much sober than he was five minutes ago, “Jae’s sick?” Scrambling to his feet he dusts his pants off, “how’d she get sick-”

“No,” Jeonghan shoves his shoulder, successfully perplexing Seungcheol. “You don’t get to act worried when I called you dozens of times only to be ignored. You’re not coming home to see her right now because I refuse to have you coming in reeking of alcohol and cheap perfume. I am not letting you ruin the image of yourself you created for her!” He says finally turning his back, leaving Seungcheol to stare at his retreating figure. 

“If it weren’t for all these people I would have let you kick till he bled,” the security guard pats his back. 

“I know Mark,” he sighs, “just doing your job.”

“Take care of yourself too Jeonghan.”

The inheritor watches as Jeonghan disappears from his view. Fishing his phone out of his blazer pocket, he curses at himself when he sees almost thirty miss calls from Jeonghan and maybe twelve unread messages. 

Shrugging off some of his friends’ concerned gestures, he leaves the bar and restaurant – feeling the glares of Jeonghan’s co-workers.

He finds himself at the front steps of an all too familiar house. Unlocking the door, he walks in ready for a shit storm.

“What are you doing here?”

“I messed up,” he sounds exasperated, “I messed up big time and I don’t know how to fix it.”

His parents give him an odd look, “Is Jae alright?”

“Did you scare Jeonghan off?”

His parents learned about Jae and Jeonghan about six months after they began living together. It was when they decided to have one of their surprise home visits to find their son holding a toddler with his dad’s favorite waiter feeding her a spoon full of rice. They were a bit upset that they kept this huge deal from them for half a year, especially that he unknowingly got a girl pregnant. But after meeting their granddaughter and who was taking care of her, they fell in love – with both of them. 

“No and yes,” Seungcheol pinches the bridge of his nose, “Jae’s sick and I’m not Jeonghan’s favorite person at the moment.”

His mom rushes to him when she sees the nasty bruise forming. “What happened?”

“My negligence,” he winces when his mom touches it, “I’m only partially drunk right now and I’m convinced Jeonghan’s part bloodhound.”

“At least we know he can keep you in check,” his father inspects the bruise as well, “Honey, remind me to write Jeonghanie a check, that’s a nice shiner right there. Deserved it, didn’t you?” 

After a brief glaring session he gives in, “Absolutely.” He maneuvers around them to sit on the high chairs near the kitchen counter. “I’m a horrible father. I wanted a break from being a dad so I went out for drinks with some friends. While I was out drinking, Jeonghan was home taking care of Jae, missing work because I forgot he had a shift tonight. I don’t know how to be a full-time dad. I thought I had everything, but apparently I don’t.”

His parents sit on opposite sides of him, his dad patting his back while mom gave him a glass of water and an ice pack, “Sweetie, I get that parenting is hard and tiring. And it’s good to have a break sometime. But you should at least tell Jeonghan in advance if you need some sort of break.”

“And you have to take into consideration that Jeonghan’s been a full-time parent this entire time,” his dad chimes in, “that boy is balancing five things at once while simultaneously juggling jobs while trying to teach you how to be a good father. If I’m going to be honest, anyone would look like a bad dad compared to him.”

That was a statement nobody could argue with.

“Jeonghan’s already been through a lot Cheol. You wanting a break from it seems like a normal thing for you or me, but to him that’s a red flag.”

Seungcheol knew exactly what she’s talking about. Last time that happened, Jae’s mom walks out leaving him to take care of her all by himself. 

“You just have to go back there tomorrow, and apologize until your face turns red,” his dad chuckles. “I’ve taught you so much about how to run a company, I’ve yet to teach you the true challenge.”

“What’s that?”

“Marriage and parenting.”

“I am not married!”

“Yeah okay honey,” his mom laughs a bit, rubbing his back.

Seungcheol splutters at the assumptions. “I’m not! We’re not like that!”

“Oh really? What’s your plan when you go back home tomorrow?”

“Beg and plead for forgiveness. Maybe even cry a little while probably getting yelled at.”

“Sounds like the time I came home with a convertible instead of a normal car when you were two,” his dad laughs, “If I were you, I’d be terrified. Jeonghan has the experience of a dad, mom, college student and a waiter, all embodied into one.”

A moment of silence washes through the large mansion as they all realized what that meant. The authority of a dad, the protective instincts of a mom, the frustration with life of a college student and the pent-up rage that a waiter has to contain; all in one sweet looking person, not even including all of the stress that each persona holds. Jeonghan’s a ticking time-bomb.

Both his parents look at him with pity, “Good luck.”

 

 

***

 

 

When he entered the penthouse, he found Joshua on the couch, lying face down, left arm dangling off the edge. He sees opened medicine bottles and measuring cups on the kitchen counter along with some dry rags. He shuts the door a bit louder than he had hoped, causing Joshua to jump up. “Oh my god, Jae’s running away-” the grad student blinks a bit, realizing Seungcheol is finally home. “Ohh... Maybe you should run away.”

“Is he that mad?”

“Infinitely,” Joshua picks himself up, gathering his backpack. As he heads for the exit Seungcheol grabs his arm.

“Hey... thanks. For being here with them.”

He smiles, “You don’t have to thank me. It was a trip down memory lane. I’d like to think I made her feel better,” Joshua smiles fondly, before giving him a quick pat on the back before leaving. 

It made him feel worse. 

Slowly, he creeps into Jae’s room to see her tucked in with Jeonghan fast asleep next her, arm protectively over her body. He’s still dressed in the clothes he saw him in last night. Guilt begins to eat him alive. He should have been here. 

The presence of someone else in the room apparently gets to him finally, and the younger wakes up. A frown automatically forms on his face when he sees Seungcheol. 

Getting up, he stretches and brushes past the dad coldly.

“Han, I’m sorry,” he apologizes, trailing after him. “I messed up last night I know, just please don’t leave-“

“I’m not leaving,” he said bitterly. The brunet began picking up the toys and tissues scattered on the floor. “I told you. I’m not leaving until you’re a good – no, you know what, an _amazing_ dad. But you’re not. Not even near it.”

Seungcheol’s both relieved and hurt by the statement. “I’m really sorry, I’m not a superhero, I’m not used to this kind of responsibility. I know I let you down last night, and I’m so sorry for that. But I’m not you.”

“I’m not asking you to be me,” Jeonghan sounds distraught, angrily throwing the used tissues in the trash can, “I’m asking you to just be there! To be her dad! She wants you to be there and you weren’t last night when she was looking for you! You don’t get to walk out like her mom did on her. You are not going to turn this around and break her heart like that!” 

_‘Or break my heart like that.’_

“I know. I know that now,” he pleads, “I didn’t mean to make it look like I was just going to leave. I wasn’t. I just… I just needed a break Jeonghan.”

“Well maybe next time give me a fucking heads up,” he seethes, pushing Jae’s favorite teddy bear to Seungcheol’s chest before walking towards the kitchen. “A quick text that says ‘hey, I don’t want to be dad today, I want to fuck this random bitch so please stay in and watch my daughter, please and thank you’ would be enough.”

“Jeonghan don’t you ever just want a break? Don’t you understand? I know I said I want to be there for her, I know I said I was in, but I’m twenty-four and it’s still new to me!”

“Well I was fucking nineteen when I had to become dad!” Jeonghan slams the rag on the ground, his eyes burning, “I had _nothing_ Seungcheol! I had no family! The only family I had was Nayoung, Miss Eugene, Joshua, Wonwoo and Jae. And Jae was the one who was always there. But do you know how fucking draining that shit was? You weren’t there when we got four hours tops of sleep because Jae kept crying because we needed to change her diaper or how she needs to be fed. Or how she’d go hours and hours crying, and us not knowing what was wrong! I always work almost to overtime to keep myself afloat. So yes, I have wanted a break Seungcheol! I’ve wanted a break for who knows how long!” He swallows trying to steady his breath, tears threatening to fall.

“Jeonghan-”

“Shut up! God!” he groans, pushing himself away from the counter, “I wanted a break but I can’t because when I do, Jae has nobody! I can’t take a break because her mom bailed on her! I can’t take a break because I have to go to class or work. I can’t take a break, because of you!” he marches up to him, poking him in his chest, “Because you think you need a break. I can’t have a break. Her actual dad wants a break while I haven’t had one since I was eighteen. Because after what? Nine months, he’s tired.”

Grabbing his finger, Seungcheol envelopes his hands around the younger’s, “Jeonghan I’m sorry, I’ll say sorry until you can accept it. But I’m so sorry. I know how hard you work, I'm not trying to down play that all. I'm sorry, you deserve a break."”

Jeonghan looks everywhere but at Seungcheol, he tries to pull his hands away but Seungcheol’s much stronger, “I don’t want to look at you right now or talk to you. If you want to apologize, go say sorry to that girl you were with last night.”

The urge to explain himself bubbles up inside him, for some reason, the last thing he wanted was for Jeonghan to misunderstand his relations with his co-worker, “Jeonghan, I was drunk, I get careless and touchy when I’m drunk. She’s just a friend.”

“Oh trust me, I know how careless you get,” He says under his breath.

“What?”

“Nothing,” he finally frees his hands, “I just really can’t look at you right now.”

“Jeonghan I’m sorry.”

“No. You aren’t. You aren’t sorry. You feel sorry for me,” Jeonghan walks towards his room, “You’re sorry that I’ve never felt the privilege you got to feel. That I’ve never had a star plucked out of the sky for me. That the world has never revolved around me like it has with you.” His words stung with the truth, “Well let’s recall lesson one shall we. You’re not the sun anymore, Seungcheol. The universe does not revolve around you anymore. Jae’s the sun. You’re just another one of those planets that orbit her.”

And just like that, Jeonghan shuts the door.

 

***

 

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was almost 10,000 words so wow. Anyways, I hope you followed along easily. this one and the next are going to be broken down like that, all chopped up to different time frames!  
> Sorry for any mistakes!  
> (Follow me on twitter @HVCHW3)


	3. Out of All the Stars, You're the brightest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Apologizing in advance: I tend to type faster than what my mind says so like if there's a missing word or it sounds off; just know, I probably forgot to type it)

* * *

 

 

 

“So let me get this straight,” Joshua pokes at his fruits, “You guys have a drunken kiss. Then you live in bliss. And now you’re pretending he doesn’t exist.”

“Yes Dr. Seuss, that’s how life is going,” Jeonghan rolls his eyes. “I can’t just let him get by with that kind of stuff.”

It’s been a week since the ‘Seungcheol Incident’ and Jeonghan is still hell bent about it. The guilt party excessively apologizes, but every time Jeonghan even thinks about forgiving him, he gets flashes of Nayoung up and leaving him and her apologizing, sometimes it Seungcheol drinking with his friends, occasionally its Jae asking for her dad. He just wasn’t quite ready to forgive him just yet.

“What stuff? Him ditching you or him coddling someone else when he’s drunk?” Mingyu raises an eyebrow, challenging him.

“Him ditching Jae,” he stresses. Jeonghan didn’t know why they invited Mingyu to eat with them on their break.

“I feel like this is just a big overreaction,” Joshua stretches past Mingyu to dump his plastic bowl in the trash, “He’s been late before, and he’s still a new dad. I think you’re jealous.”

Jeonghan rolls his eyes at the mere suggestion of jealously, “I’m not, Seungcheol’s gone on dates before.”

Seungcheol had gone on at least two dates since the beginning of their time together. Since they were usually Friday nights, Jeonghan had work so Seungcheol got Seokmin or Jihoon to watch over Jae. Usually Seokmin who’d make Seungcheol call Joshua over to get to know him more – way before they started dating.

“But that’s before you two kissed last month. Emotionally attached now aren’t ya?” The tallest one teases.

“He’s straight. Stop.”

Joshua purses his lips, thinking hard, “I don’t think so. Jihoon’s gay. Seokmin’s bi. I think he’s bi.” He nods to himself, “Because it’s gay, gay, bi.” He pointed to Jeonghan then Mingyu then to himself. “So, they’re probably gay, bi, bi. Or maybe gay, bi, pan...”

Of course his friends would never let him breathe. Ever since their kiss they wouldn’t let him live it down. It was a mistake and he refuses to believe he has any type of feelings for the latter. Seungcheol didn’t even remember the kiss, so why should he? It meant nothing.

 

*

 

Seungcheol lays in his bed, staring at the ceiling. Jeonghan hasn’t spoken to him in over seven days and it’s killing him. The grad student is his version of gravity at this point. He’s what keeps him on the ground, keeps him in check. Now he’s just floating aimlessly not sure what to do with his life.

“Is Hani mad?”

He rolls his head to the side where his daughter is mimicking his position – sprawled on the bed, arms spread out staring at the ceiling. “Yeah, daddy was a bad dad.”

The little toddler rolls over propping her elbows on the mattress to rest her head in her hands, her cheeks looking extra squishy, “You’re a good dad.”

Head perking up, he gives her a small smile, “Really?”

Jae nods with much enthusiasm, “Can the best daddy in the world give me a chocolate cookie.”

“I knew it!” He yells playfully, picking her up to swing her around, “You fooled me!” He takes them to the kitchen, placing his giggling daughter on the counter top.

“We should make cookies for Hani,” she smiles after Seungcheol hands her a chocolate chip cookie.

“Hani doesn’t like cookies,” he lifts her back up and takes her to the couch.

“He likes Strawberries.”

Seungcheol nods in agreement. Jeonghan loves strawberries. He doesn’t remember how his fridge looked without a carton of strawberries on the top shelf anymore. There is also the distinct memory of when they celebrated Mingyu’s birthday, he had picked off all the strawberries on top of the cake even before Mingyu could even show up. “I told you not to get the one with fruit on it,” he remembered Joshua smacking Wonwoo’s shoulders since he was in charge of bringing the cake.

He stares at his daughter as she nibbled on her cookie. What could he possibly do to get Jeonghan to finally forgive him?

 

 

***

 

 

Jeonghan almost runs out of his room, successfully stubbing his toe on the foot of his bed, almost tripping to put his shoes on. His alarm didn’t go off and it’s almost eleven; that’s the latest he’s ever woken up. “Fuck, Sorn’s going to kill me-”

He stops in his tracks when he enters the main room of the penthouse and notices how dimly lit it was. A little worried he looks around and doesn’t see Jae anywhere, the curtains were drawn so no light is coming in. The only light was coming from the Netflix screen already loaded on the television with a fresh bowl of strawberries on the couch next to Seungcheol’s grey duvet and the man himself standing in the middle of the living room waiting.

“What’s going on? Where’s Jae?”

Seungcheol can’t help but smile because finally he’s gotten a word out of the younger. “This is your break.” Not understanding, he tries to rush more questions as he didn’t want to be late but was interrupted, “I called your manager, and although she sounded like she wanted to kill me, she agreed to give you the day off. Jae’s with my parents for the day, they’ve been wanting to spend time with her anyway,” He takes a hesitant step forward, “This is your break. And I want you to tell me whenever you want one.”

“Seungcheol, me getting mad wasn’t about wanting a break, it was-”

“Because I wasn’t being a dad. Because I was being selfish I know,” Seungcheol walks up to him, taking the uniform out of his hands and placing it on the table, “It’s not going to happen again and I don’t want you to feel taken advantage of or feel like this is all on you, because it’s not. It’s on me, and I’m so sorry. The reality of it is that we wouldn’t be in this situation if it wasn’t for me and I owe you everything for taking care of my daughter when I wasn’t there.” He says with so much sincerity. “this isn’t a break from Jae, definitely not. This a break for you. You work, you study and you care every day of the week. This is me caring for you so you don’t run yourself dry.”

Jeonghan allows himself to be pulled towards the couch, his façade crumbling within seconds when Seungcheol throws the blanket over the both of them. He hands him the bowl of strawberries, before playing the second season of Criminal Minds.

Two episodes in and Jeonghan finds his head resting on the other’s shoulder, while Seungcheol had an arm wrapped around his shoulder, fingers gently combing through his short brown locks. The older had learned how relaxed he gets after Jae had requested to do his hair when it was still long. Jeonghan had fallen asleep while Jae brushed his hair. It was like his own natural sedative.

“Do you… Do you know what it’s like to never be put first?” Jeonghan asks out of the blue, voice hoarse. “Because I’ve never been first for anybody.”

It’s a random question, a random statement, but still very much relevant in their current situation.

“If it wasn’t Jae, you’d be first. Just know that above everyone; my co-workers, my friends, all those people at the bar, you’ll always come before them for me,” adoration radiating off of him, “And all those people don’t matter to me as much as you matter to me.”

That was the wrong thing to say. Because Jeonghan can already feel it, he’s unable to breathe while his beating heart became faster. Seungcheol said the wrong thing because now Jeonghan’s falling.

 And he knows for a fact Seungcheol’s not going to be able to catch him.

  

 

***

 

 

After finally accepting the apology things fall back into place with only one tiny dent in everything. Jeonghan’s feelings. Ever since that day, he’s fully convinced Seungcheol’s intentions were purely to throw him off and mess him up. Newsflash: it worked.

Somehow, Jeonghan manages to convince himself that his newfound feelings for the other is purely because he’s giving him attention; infatuation at most. He doesn’t like Seungcheol, he just likes the attention. Well, that’s what he tells himself.

 

*

 

“Why didn’t you just leave her at pre-school?” Seungcheol asks while having a staring contest with Jae. It never occurred to him that Jeonghan could have just stuck the kid in a daycare or pre-school to give him a little extra time for himself and school.

“Didn’t meet the deadline, I don’t have a set schedule where I can pick her up at the same time every day, and it costs money.” He responds, searching for some classes.

“Well maybe we can do it this coming year,” The dad sticks his tongue out at his daughter when he won, “She only has a year left until she starts kindergarten. Might as well get her used to being somewhere for six to eight hours.”

Jae starting school would ease up the load on both of them, and it is basically the next step to someone’s childhood.

 

*

 

“You can’t drink that!” Seungcheol nearly screeches when he sees a beer bottle – cap still screwed on – in her hand when she asked him to open her drink.

“Why?”

“Because you’re four!”

“I’m five in three months.”

“No.”

“Why?”

“Because I said so.”

“Why?”

“Because Hani said so.”

“Oh… Why?”

Seungcheol never believed those stories about kids going through their why phase. He now believes it.

 

*

 

“Ask him out.”

“I don’t have feelings for him,” Jeonghan replies for the tenth time that night.

“Why are you in a constant state of denial?” Joshua wipes down the other side of the table.

“I’m not in a state of denial; I live in the state of California.”

Receiving a rag to his face for that joke, he throws it back to an unpleased Joshua, “The man is whipped. Whatever you say, he does within five seconds.” He calls out as his best friend continues to ignore him.

 

*

 

The five – six including Jae – are gathered on the floor of Seungcheol’s penthouse, settled on the white fur rug. “I need help guys, it’s our first anniversary and I need ideas.”

“You stop caring after the third one man,” Jihoon shrugs reaching over to grab a strawberry only to be slapped away by Jeonghan. He growls a bit before bringing the bowl closer to him, not allowing anyone to take any.

“What do you mean? I still care,” Soonyoung looks at his boyfriend, scandalized.

“Babe, we’re approaching our fifth, it’s only special if we know there’s not gonna be anymore,” Jihoon scrunches his nose, patting Soonyoung’s leg.

“Joshua’s a simple man who is also very sentimental,” Jeonghan holds a strawberry out for Jae to bite. “What did you two go on your first date?” The explanation goes unheard by him when he picks up another strawberry and biting it. He feels Seungcheol’s hand on the crook of his arm, mouth open, wanting a bite. Not one to disappoint, he feeds him the one he just bit from.

Jihoon watches the exchange from across their little circle, _‘Fucking idiots.’_

 

*

 

 

“You need a house.”

“But I like my penthouse.”

“Jae’s getting older and she can’t be living here.”

“Jeonghan!”

“I refuse to get in between you and your mom,” Jeonghan flips through his text book trying to mind his own business, “Your mom’s your mom, she knows best. Plus, I shouldn’t get a say since I don’t pay rent.”

Seungcheol does a double take back at Jeonghan, “What? You know?”

“I figured it out about six months back. I finally noticed that there hasn’t been a single monthly transaction,” he purses his lips but then pauses. Jeonghan looks up at the ceiling, putting the textbook down, “Wait… Why don’t I have more money then…” Forgetting his studies, the brunet gets up from his spot on the couch towards his bed room, “Jae! Are you stealing money from me!”

Seungcheol’s mom gives him the signature mom look, the “I told you so.”

“But we’re fine here!”

“Cheol honey, Jaehyun is starting kindergarten soon and this place is more of a bachelor pad than a family home.”

“That is prejudice to all the families who live in penthouses,” Seungcheol defends his lifestyle with all his might.

“House.”

“No.”

“Buy one.”

“No.”

“Seungcheol.”

“N-”

 

“This one is nice, right?”

They’re going to buy a house.

That’s how Seungcheol finds himself laying on his bed with Jeonghan lying next to him and Jae fast asleep in between them.

Jeonghan tilts his head a bit, trying to see the screen on the iPad better only to give him a perplexed look right after, “Cheol that’s a mansion.”

“It’s still a house,” he mumbles. “I don’t want to live in the suburbs man.”

“Well that’s where most houses are located,” Jeonghan yawns in his elbow. “What do you want the house to have? Find the essentials and then work from there. The rest isn’t needed.”

Seungcheol thinks. The essentials. “Essentials? Well we need at least three rooms, one for me, you and Jae. A good kitchen. A backyard so when people come over we can grill and you and Jae have room to play soccer. A driveway that fits more than two cars. We should get a house that has a bay window maybe, I think Jae would love it, but you’d probably sleep there instead. Maybe a fireplace as well… What do you-”

There’s no use finishing his sentence when he sees Jeonghan curled up, fallen asleep next to Jae. He smiles at the sight; his two favorite people sleeping peacefully beside him. Raising the duvet higher to cover more of Jae’s and Jeonghan’s body, he lightly smooths his daughter’s hair down away from her face. Automatically his hands travel to Jeonghan’s, brushing away some strands of lose hair from his eyes. He is an essential too. It didn’t matter where he lived, as long as Jeonghan’s there with him, he’d be perfectly fine anywhere.

 

*

 

 _‘Oh Jesus Christ…_ ’ Jeonghan freezes. He looks around and he sees people staring while a couple of his classmates froze with him as well. Apparently, Seungcheol decided to pick him up from his class today, car parked in the lot in front of the communications building. But as usual, Jeonghan forgets that Seungcheol’s basically a millionaire who owns fancy suits and fancy cars since he usually sees him inside the penthouse and in sweats or regular jeans.

Seeing him standing next to his Maserati was one thing, but there’s also the fact he had Ray Bans on and a baby blue blazer on; he reeked of money.

“Who is he?”

“I’ve never seen him on campus before.”

“Jeonghan he’s looking at you.”

“Contain your gayness.”

Jeonghan almost snorts at the comments because one; hilarious. And two; clueless idiots. To egg them on even more, he decides to relish in the attention. He strides lazily towards Seungcheol who met him half way, sliding his backpack off and holding it out for the other to take – which he gladly did. Jeonghan would be lying if he said he didn’t bubble up with excitement for pulling one over the nosy students.

Seungcheol on the other hand is deaf to the murmurs as he seems extremely giddy. Swinging the backpack over his shoulder he removes his sunglasses (Jeonghan can hear many go “Oh my god”), “Hani! I found a house!”

His classmates cough behind him and someone say, “Why is Jeonghan so powerful” and “He’s been blessed by the gods” and at this point, nothing could hold back the full blown smile on his face. He can feel the stares of bystanders and classmates on him. It’s an odd sight; Hat hair, skinny jeans and oversized sweater contrasted with a tussled brunet, black dress pants and blue blazer. Jeonghan wanted to savor the moment, “I swear Cheol, we talked about this; if it’s a mansion with glass stairs-”

“No! I promise, you’ll love it!” Seungcheol almost bounces with excitement. Taking Jeonghan’s backpack, he throws it over his shoulder, grabbing his hand to lead him to the car. Jeonghan waves to his dumbstruck friends as he climbs into the passenger seat.

 

After picking Jae up from pre-school Seungcheol leads them away. Jeonghan wanted to question it since he said it was most definitely not a mansion but all he sees are billion dollar houses. Not until Seungcheol fully passes all of them, driving up towards the hills. “You did not…”

“Didn’t what?” Seungcheol smirks, knowing what Jeonghan’s thinking.

“A house on the hills?”

It was a long time ago, maybe around the first months of their arrangement, it was a late night, Jeonghan was studying for one of his classes while Seungcheol went through some papers and applications for internships his dad had requested. Seungcheol had asked what Jeonghan’s ultimate goal was; where he wanted to end up. Really thinking about it, he responded with wanting to be a really good Public Relations personnel, living his life in Los Angeles still, maybe in a Penthouse like the one he’s currently residing in or in a house on the hill to overlook the city. Somewhere that’s close enough to people and civilization, but far enough to distance himself from all the noise.

And the fact that Seungcheol remembered struck him hard.

Pulling up onto a long, bricked driveway, a two-story house in front of him, a Mediterranean style house, pricks and yellow paint, emitting warmth. The car began shaking a bit from Jae’s excited bouncing in the backseat.

Turning to the driver of the car, Jeonghan couldn’t find the right words to say, because even before entering the house, he knew it was beautiful. A bit over the top for both Jae and Jeonghan, but it was the dream.

The three of them scramble out of the car, entering though the gated doors and already, Jeonghan is stumped. Even if it was most probably expensive, it was homey.

“My room is down here, while yours and Jae’s is upstairs – you get the one with the balcony,” Seungcheol explains, giving a bit of a tour, “There’s a pool and a fireplace, and the kitchen is big enough and…” He lets a pleased sigh escape, “I saw it and… what do you think?”

Jeonghan let’s a low scoff out, “There’s just no way we’re getting a normal suburb house with him Jae?”

“Nope!” She giggles as she runs around the new environment.

“I love it, it’s amazing, but Cheol, I can’t afford this if I’m still living with you-”

“Got it covered,” Seungcheol held a hand out to stop him from speaking, “You’re graduating next semester. I’ll pay until you get a job, and then, only then, will we finally split the cost. Deal?”

Looking around the house once more, he could already see the future being molded in front of him. Finally, his lips stretch into a smile. “Deal.”

They just bought a house.

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

Dawned in black gowns and blue sashes with their tassels on the other side, Seungcheol sees his friends approaching him and he couldn’t be prouder, “There’s our graduates!” he spread his arms out, welcoming the four – now – alumni of the university.

With Jae on Jihoon’s shoulders, she hands Jeonghan his bouquet of flowers. He’s absolutely beaming from ear to ear. He’s finally done. Taking her off Jihoon’s hands he holds her in one arm and the flowers in the other. Thanking Seokmin and Soonyoung he finally gets to walk up to Seungcheol.

“You did it,” he smiles back, “I’d say you’ve become a full-fledged working-class adult but we all know you got a head start on that.”

“Hilarious,” he gives Jae a quick kiss on the cheek before putting her back on the ground.

After six long years of studying and working and five years of raising a kid, and almost two years living with Seungcheol, he’s finally made it. Granted, there has been some unofficial turns and unexpected circumstances, but he couldn’t be more grateful.

“We’re really proud of you guys,” Soonyoung wrapped his arms around Jeonghan and Wonwoo, “Let’s all just get drunk!”

“No!” Jeonghan and Seungcheol end up saying simultaneously; knowing looks on Mingyu’s and Joshua’s face while the rest looked on extremely confused.

“We have to finish unpacking,” The almost CEO says.

It took a while for them to finally move into the house. There was a lot of paperwork and add-ins that needed to be worked out. There needed to be a better security system as well as having the place fumigated – there weren’t any bugs when they went the first time, but it’s a ‘just in case’ since the last time a crawler ended up in the Penthouse, Seungcheol and Jae ended up screaming about it and trapping it underneath a basket until Jeonghan came back from work. Adding in the new furniture, it all took about four months, but their schedules were so hectic that even though they moved in almost three weeks ago, things were still left in boxes.

“Then it’s settled,” Jihoon nods, “Drinks at Cheol’s new place!”

 

After a couple of hours of drinking and telling Jae that she wasn’t allowed to drink the fancy apple juice, their intrusive friends had decided to turn in for the night, leaving Seungcheol and Jeonghan with their empty glasses to clean. Sending Jeonghan to check on Jae, he took care of the dishes, waiting for the other to come back down.

When he hears the other’s footsteps coming down the stairs, he hastily wipes his hands on the towel next to the sink, grabbing a small box from its hiding place in the drawer. Going over to where Jeonghan sat on the couch, he holds the wrapped gift out, “Happy graduation.”

Jeonghan eyes the gift before taking it, “What’s your game Choi?”

“Nothing,” he chuckles running his hand on the other’s back, “It’s a congratulatory gift along with an overdue thank you for everything.”

Curious, Jeonghan unwraps the gift opening the box, jaw dropping in the process. Looking back at him is a brand-new, white gold watch; black-faced, diamonds in replacement of the numbers and a small crown where the twelve is supposed to be. “This is a Rolex,” He whispers.

“Yeah, you didn’t have a watch so I thought might as well get you one,” Seungcheol chimes.

“This is a Rolex.” He says a little louder.

“I mean… What other brand would I get you?” he scoffs as if this is just a casual thing to give someone, “When I say Cartier, everyone thinks of those bracelets and rings. Michael Kors, those ugly bags. But when someone says Rolex, they say: watch! I guess I could have gotten you a Movado but it doesn’t slip off the tongue as nicely-”

“This is a Rolex!” Jeonghan gawks, “How much was this?”

“About ten,” He shrugs happily.

“ _Thousand_?!” These damn rich people. “Seungcheol! I can’t walk around with ten-grand on my wrist!”

“Why not? Mine’s like thirty,” He points to the watch on his wrist trying to make Jeonghan feel better but utterly failed when his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

“These watches are the price of my yearly tuition!”

“Which, I offered to pay off-” Seungcheol shields himself from a throw pillow, “-okay okay, just saying!”

“I can’t accept this, Seungcheol. It’s nice, its great but I just can’t.”

“Well, too late,” he sang taking it out of the box, pulling at Jeonghan’s arm, “Because it fits you perfectly, and you need one when you start working with me.”

That last statement startles Jeonghan even more than the impromptu present. “What?”

“I want you to apply for a position on my PR team.”

 

 

***

 

 

“Now that I think about it, you have a sugar daddy,” Joshua utters as he tilts his head, admiring the expensive accessory, “Wait… Oh my god, _I_ have a sugar daddy.” He realizes, pointing to himself in slight disbelief. Joshua tends to forget that his own boyfriend is a rich man as well who work with other rich men like Seungcheol. It should have been acknowledged more since he himself received a new acoustic guitar – a Taylor 200 series none-the-less – from Seokmin.

Jeonghan tries to ignore his friend’s comment, as he wipes some trays down. It’s their last week working at the restaurant before they enter the world of unemployment and job hunting so they’re throwing in a bit of over time in. “He wants me to work with him. Like why? I see him at home, and now he wants to see me at work?”

“Listen, I know it sounds bad, but it’s honestly the best decision to do,” Joshua says carrying the plates to the rack, “I’ve already been looking around and for me, nothing tops his company.”

“Ugh, my boys,” Sorn walks back into kitchen a pout on her face, “Why’d you assholes have to go and graduate and get jobs and- holy fuck is that a Rolex?” She makes a bee-line straight to his wrist, “Is this what you’re blowing your paychecks on? Because if so you’re working here for another four years.”

“Seungcheol gave it to him as a graduation present,” Joshua teases.

“I need a boyfriend who spoils me like that, damn.” She bends his arm in different directions to get a full view of the watch.

“We’re not dating!”

“Oh please,” Sorn rolls her eye, “You two live together, are raising a kid together; you’re practically married to him.”

“He’s straight!”

“You know who else people thought was straight? Neil Patrick Harris. Wanna know why? Because Barney Stinson was a straight rich man.” His best friend deadpans, “Under Seungcheol’s Barney Stinson person, he’s a Neil Patrick Harris.” Although the way Joshua had put it was a bit round-about, he did have a very fair point.

But not a good enough one to convince him otherwise.

 

*

 

“Apply.”

“No,” Jeonghan snipes back, “I’m not working for you.”

“You’d be working with me,” Seungcheol tries to reason, sitting down in the salon chair next to him. He decided to accompany both Jeonghan and Jae to the salon since Jae was in need of a haircut while Jeonghan decided it’s about time for a new change.

“Changes nothing.” He snaps.

“Hani, just apply.”

“I say do it,” the hair dresser adds in her two-cents. “Take the Richie Rich’s money.” She jabs at the millionaire who gave her a thumbs up in return.

“Amber!”

“What? He’s already footed the bill and a regular. I gotta,” She sings, painting one last piece of his hair.

Glaring at Seungcheol through the mirror, annoyed because he knows exactly what he’s doing. He knows Jeonghan hates it when he pays for things Jeonghan has been saving up for or what he’s been in need of. And now that he’s being difficult, Seungcheol’s not going to stop until he gives in.

“Fine!”

 

 

***

_A month later_

Jogging down the stairs Seungcheol gives himself a quick smile in the mirror, pleased at the way he looked. Tousling his brown hair a bit more he feels just about ready. Approaching Jeonghan who was still hunched over the laptop just like he left him, he places his chin on the now blond’s shoulder, “Are you still working on your résumé?”

Turning his head slightly, their face inches apart he pouts, “Yes… Is that a bad thing?”

Removing his chin, he presses his mouth on the other’s shoulder blade, “Not unless you take a break and help me decide if I should wear the brown or black shoes tonight.”

“Black, always go with black man.” Jeonghan scolds, removing himself from the bar stool. “You ready for tonight?”

“Absolutely not,” Seungcheol shakes his hands, a nervous habit, “it’s been a while, and I’m probably going to blow it.”

Jeonghan smiles – even if he can’t breathe properly. “You’ll be fine. Jennie seems to really like you.” And just like that, the weight on his chest seemed to get ten times heavier. “Have fun on your date.”

He should have kept his stupid mouth shut. If he did, then he wouldn’t be watching Seungcheol prepare and get date jitters right in front of him. Why did he have to mention the way Jennie looks at him. Why the hell did he encourage Seungcheol to go and talk to her? _‘Oh right… Right… I’m not supposed to be in love with a straight guy.’_

Everything was going so well. Seungcheol had insisted Joshua and he go on a tour of the company to know what they were applying to. It was nice, the division is nice although they were informed that once Seungcheol takes over in a couple of months, the teams and workers were going to be exchanged; thus, explaining the job openings. The interviews would pursue and the board would make the decisions on who is qualified enough to work under Seungcheol and will pass everyone they see fit leaving the final picks for Seungcheol.

Jeonghan was just getting acquainted with the other young employees when Seungcheol came in asking how everything was going, making sure he was okay. That’s when he noticed Jennie and all her goddess like glory.

“Maybe I should cancel-”

“No, go. Don’t wimp out,” There he goes again. Being supportive.

“Daddy, where are you going?” Jae turns around on the couch to face them. “It’s almost seven! You just got back from work!”

“Sweetie, your dad has a date,”

“A date? What’s a date?” Jae’s face contorts as if the word itself was repulsive.

“It’s when two people go out and talk and get to know each other. Then they’ll go on more to spend time with each other,” Jeonghan explains, very proud of himself for not vomiting.

“I’m going to go, tell everyone I said hi when they get here,” he gives Jeonghan’s arm a quick squeeze before kissing Jae on the forehead on his way out.

When the two hear the door shut, they stand there, letting the television fill the silence. “I don’t like that.” Jae crosses her arms.

“Neither do I.”

 

“He’s on a date with Jenny?” Seokmin almost gags.

The intention for that night was to just have a simple dinner with some of his friends, maybe vent out his frustrations to Joshua but it seems like Seokmin is more invested in the whole ordeal than imagined. So, Joshua’s left with playing with Jae while Soonyoung and Wonwoo caught up with each other. Jihoon got held up at work so he wasn’t able to attend, so his now fiancé left without him. “They’re my friends to you loser.”

“It’s kind of… my fault,” Jeonghan says meekly into the mouth of his beer bottle. He shrank a bit under Seokmin’s gaze as he explains in full detail what had happened the previous day.

“You noticed her staring because you were being protective of your territory!”

“I don’t have territory!”

“Yes you do! Cheol is your territory! And now you’re letting someone pee all over it!”

Joshua watches as his best friend and boyfriend hash it out – with Mingyu as a bystander – in the kitchen.

“Uncle Josh, why do people go on dates?”

Tearing his gaze away from the fiasco in the kitchen he smiles at the little girl, “Well, people date when they really, really like someone. They like spending time with each other. Then, if they go on many, many dates, they become serious. Do you know how me and Uncle Seokmin are?” he waits for Jae to see if she understands; but she’s still a bit lost, “We hold hands, hug each other, and all those things… Like how…” his eyes travel to the television playing a movie, “How Ben and Mal are dating.”

The information seems to have finally processed in her mind, understanding it finally, “So after they date for a very long time, and they love spending time with one another, they’ll start living together and or get married. But that’s only if they date for a long, long time, not after one.”

Joshua grows a bit concerned with the way the little girl is thinking so hard, but what comes out of her mouth shocks him even more, “So… Why is daddy on a date if he’s dating Hani?”

That was a question even the all-knowing Joshua couldn’t answer.

“Jae… Your dad and Jeonghan aren’t dating.”

Her reaction almost makes him bust out laughing as her hands slap against her face, jaw dropping, “That’s impossible!”

 

 

“Hey, is my phone out here?” Jeonghan sticks his head outside, asking Soonyoung and Wonwoo who were out on the veranda. The two look around, shaking his head. He walks back into the kitchen, sipping his beer in utter confusion. About to check his room, the front door opening catches his attention.

“Jae?”

Everybody in the house holts their conversation when they hear Seungcheol’s voice entering through the front door. Putting his beer bottle down, Jeonghan walks around the island to see the brunet struggling to take off his shoes. “Cheol? What are you doing back so early? It’s only nine?”

“Jae called me off of your phone-”

“Daddy!” his daughter comes running towards him into his arms.

“She said it was an emergency,” Seungcheol still looked a bit flustered, as if he rushed to get home.

 _‘Oh my god,’_ Joshua covers his mouth in realization, turning to the closest person to him – which is Mingyu at the moment – he whispers, “I think Jae called him to ruin the date.”

Mingyu almost made a point to try to object to the assumption but one look at Jae’s bubbly face and how she would have gone to Jeonghan if she needed help is a clear is a cut sign, “Well fuck.”

“Jae, Seungcheol was on a date,” he fixes her hair while she clings onto her dad, “If it’s such an emergency why didn’t you call me?”

“I needed Daddy here.”

“Han, it’s fine really,” Seungcheol places a hand on Jeonghan’s busy arm, trying to calm him down, “We’re going on another date next week, don’t worry.”

His eyes widen, “You are?”

Jae unclings from her father, face scrunched up, “You are?”

“You are?” All heads turn to the kitchen where Wonwoo appeared, covering Soonyoung’s mouth.

“Yeah… is something wrong?”

 _‘You’re going on a date with someone suggested by the guy who’s still denying his feelings for you,’_ Wonwoo shakes his head.

 _‘Even after all this time, the looks, the touches, the love, there’s really nothing going to happen between them?’_ Soonyoung gives him a tight smile, “Nope.”

 _‘How can two people be so obvious yet so oblivious to each other?’_ Mingyu replies, “Not at all.”

 _‘You can’t be serious? Another date? To add salt in a self-inflicted wound?_ ’ Joshua doesn’t even try to hide his disdain, “No yeah, that’s great.”

It feels as if someone pulled the rug from underneath Jeonghan, the blow incredibly crushing as he felt the wind being knocked out of him. _‘I shouldn’t even have an ounce of hope.’_ He does his best to smile, “I’m happy for you.”

_‘I’m not…’_

“I’m not!”

All eyes zero in onto Jae who has her arms crossed, anger written on her face.

“Jae?”

“She’s probably mad you’re spending time with another girl other than her,” Jeonghan covers up. If anyone knows his emotions better than himself and Joshua, it’s Jae. So he doesn’t even question if Jae knows Jeonghan isn’t okay with it.  “Right Jae?” His voice was soft and stern at the same time, the voice parents use in public when they don’t want to be seen getting angry at their kids.

Obediently, Jae nods her head, although she knows – they all know – that it wasn’t the case at all.

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

“Jeonghan good to see you!”

“Nice to see you again sir,” He shakes the soon-to-be former CEO of the company.

A new voice chimes in from the other side of the table, “You’re the waiter at that restaurant, right?”

“Yes ma’am I was.”

A month after submitting his résumé Jeonghan finally made it to the interview portion of the applications. Seungcheol had told him not to worry since he’d be in the room as well, he had nothing to worry about.

“It says here you graduated from a college prep school but then you went to a community college, but you graduated after three semesters only spending two years as an undergrad at UCLA and obtained your masters last spring correct?”

“Yes sir.”

The man sitting next to Seungcheol asks, “Why did you make a pit stop when you could have just attended a university right away?”

He gives Seungcheol an uneasy glance, “I... needed to save money for the tuition since scholarships didn’t cover enough.”

“But you went to a college prep school son. Surely you had enough.” It seems like Seungcheol’s father didn’t really know Jeonghan’s entire life story after all.

“That was before I got kicked out of my house... sir.” His voice softened towards the end when the board started whispering among themselves. The look on the older Choi’s face gave him a clear sign that he had finally come to terms with the situation, but not fast enough to shift to the next topic since another persistent board member continued to speak.

“Why did you get kicked out? A misdemeanor? Rebellion?”

“Because I’m gay.”

The room silenced. All eyes on him. And it felt like being scrutinized once more. 

“So they didn’t help you out at all?”

“No sir.” He shakes his head, “with the college prep, yes they did. But after high school... I was on my own.”

“It says here that you interned at the LA times?” A woman spoke. 

 _‘Fuck…’_ Jeonghan forgot about that part of his résumé, “Yes ma’am.”

“It says they offered you a full-time position but two months after you resigned.”

He squeezed his eyes shut. He felt Seungcheol’s burning gaze on him. That was something he didn’t tell him about. He gave it up to take care of Jae. They’d talked about his burdens one night and how guilty Seungcheol had felt after their huge argument the year prior and how he hates that Jeonghan had to give so much up just to raise Jae. Adding something else on that list was never Jeonghan’s intentions, “Yes ma’am.” 

“Why?”

“I didn’t have time.”

“Well you didn’t have time for that what makes you think you could have time for this job?”

The future CEO almost yells, “Ms. Lawrence!”

“I’m asking a question here-”

“I didn’t have time because I was raising a three-year-old kid by myself while working two other jobs so I can pay for my rent and bills along with the student loans that I also have to pay back,” Jeonghan fires back professionally, “I didn’t have time because even when I could pick my availability; pick what time I can go to classes, I had to make time for the child I am still raising to this day.” He huffs out, “and if you’re worried I wouldn’t have time for this job. Maybe you all should take into consideration that I no longer have classes to take, I no longer am working as a waiter and I no longer have to worry too much about the kid because now she’s in kindergarten.”

More whispering continued when another woman spoke. 

“Mr. Yoon. You’re twenty-four and you’re saying you have a five-year-old?”

“And why do you not refer to her as your daughter?”

“Because she’s not my kid. I’m just her guardian.” He stands, “Now, if this interview has nothing to do with me or my skills in Public Relations than this is over. I came here for a job interview; not a life interview. If you want to learn more about my life or the kid I’m raising, you can all personally ask Mr. Choi.” He turns away and leaves the room, slamming the door behind him. “ _Fucking rich people_.”

All eyes were on Seungcheol.

“You all were dicks.”

“Cheol!”

“It’s true!” He looks around, “The minute you all opened up the resume and saw the words community college and resigned, you’re minds corrupted!” He threw the folder on the table, “not to mention continuously giving him a hard time because of what? Time management! It’s a load of bullshit!”

“You seem to be very close to this applicant Mr. Choi,” another asks, “What is your relationship with him?”

“He is the one helping me raise my daughter,” he deadpans. “And wanna know something? Wanna know about his time management? Tuesday’s and Thursday’s, he’d have his classes, he’ll have eight am classes plus another at eleven, then afterwards, he’d come home, take care of her with me while he studied for his classes and worked on his online classes. Then he’d carve out some time to teach my daughter some reading and writing skills and teach me the good and proper way of teaching a toddler. Afterwards, this is around maybe five to six in the evening, he’d leave for work and not come home until past eleven. On the other days excluding weekends he’d work at a bookstore and bring Jae with him from eleven to six, that’s opening to closing. Then return home to work on his assignments and online classes he takes as well. And when it’s possible, he picks up shifts because he needs the money to pay for food, clothes, gas, books, student loans.” He says with disgust, “A little more than half of you can’t relate to that because none of you have worked as hard or faced half of the discrimination he’s felt. He’s a gay Asian man in this industry. So yeah. It’s fucking personal when I’ve actually seen his work, seen him study, know his work ethics, and in comparison, to the other candidates, other than where he studied for is bachelors, nobody holds anything against him. Except for stuck up, classist snobs in this room who gave him shit for what? Being a human being? Sacrificing so much so his life could be better in the long run? Well newsflash. You guys aren’t making it any easier.”

“We just don’t think he’s qualified-”

Even before Seungcheol could protest, his father cuts him off telling him to leave. “ _Fucking rich people_!” After he exits, the older Choi turns to the one who spoke. “You don’t think that that young man isn’t qualified?”

“I mean, he’s an intelligent boy, but his focus and- and some of his credentials-”

“Who here thinks that Mister Yoon Jeonghan is fit to work here?”

Out of the thirteen members, six raise their hands. “Good. The ones who have their hands down. You all are removed from the board. Effective immediately. Seokmin and Jihoon will be replacing you all.”

Protests are heard around the room, he looks around, incredibly displeased. The ones who were complaining are the ones whom his son was talking about. The ones who’ve never experienced anything near the struggles. 

“If you all actually look at that young man’s résumé, and actually look through it, you’d see two recommendation letters. One from the Editor-in-Chief for the LA Times, and another from the head of the Mass Communications: Public relations department. Now, for you pea brained idiots, you all know how hard it is to get that.” His voice is stern, “But it seems that the fact that he’s gay, or he went to a community college for a year and a half, or maybe that he’s raising kid got to you. You all have no respect. He is more than qualified, and all your prejudices got in the way from even flipping to the next page.”

  

 

Knocking on the large door, he cracks it open, hesitantly stepping inside the office.

“Ah Jeonghan thank you for coming back.”

“Hi, if I’m gonna be honest with you Chief, I don’t think my interview went that well.” Jeonghan’s attitude completely shifts from what it was lie previously. His relationship with Seungcheol’s father is rather good, they get along well and are able to speak without much formality.

“It went splendid actually,” he stands pouring them both a drink, “Congratulations. You got the job.”

The blond blinks at the offered glass, unsure how to swallow the information, “No sir, I don’t think that’s possible unless you or Cheol pulled some strings-”

“Listen to me boy,” the boss places a hand on his shoulder, “When someone as dedicated as you comes around, you’re going to be taken into consideration. But when you have recommendations from the people you got? Jeonghan, I wouldn’t be surprised if you start running the PR department by this time next year. You got the job. You were the best applicant.”

“Deadass?”

The comment makes the older Choi burst out into laughter, “deadass son. After the interview, I was going to declare it but Seungcheol beat me to it. He went kicking and screaming at the board.”

“Oh god. I told him I shouldn’t have applied if he was going to be involved-”

“He doesn’t know you got the job.” He sips his scotch, “He thinks the board was stupid and called them dicks before leaving and hearing the final verdict.”

“Oh Jesus.”

“But congratulations Mister Yoon,” He walks over to his desk, pulling out a couple of papers for Jeonghan to read over. It’s the contract and his mind nearly combusts right then and there because his starting salary looked like what four years of working both restaurant and bookstore looked like, “You’re officially going to be a… a _fucking rich_ person.”

“The-These are actual numbers… that like… exist. In a bank account?” He blinks.

“My boy that’s only seventy and your starting salary.” He laughs, boy was Jeonghan cracking him up today, “Jeonghan do you know where I project you to be by this time next year?”

“Well… it’s two right now, and Cheol would probably be in a meeting so I’d be picking Jae up-”

“Oh good lord you’re killing me today,” his new boss wipes some tears away, “No, I see you as the public relations director. And they make six digits.”

“You… I… this…” he points to the number on the paper, “Can increase by thirty thousand?”

“You’re thinking too small, I’m talking about your pay almost doubling.”

Jeonghan just stands there, frozen, blinking at the older version of Seungcheol, unsure what to say. “Please tell me how much Seungcheol makes so I can stay level headed and not feel like I’ve just struck gold.”

“Oh Jeonghan, you’ve struck gold, trust me,” he shakes his head, watching intently as the information still continues to sink in. Yeah sure, from an outside standpoint, people would only assume that he got lucky by living with the soon to be CEO of a multimillion dollar company but really, Jeonghan has everything; a family, a stable job and house and people who love him; he himself is a gold mine. Seungcheol’s the one who struck gold.

Now, he didn’t like to meddle in his son’s or Jeonghan’s life that much, but the mere fact that it’s been a little more than three years and yet nothing has happened between the two is hair-pulling frustrating. There is absolutely no way that what’s between Seungcheol and Jeonghan is purely platonic. No possible way.

_‘These boys are going to be the death of me.’_

 

*

 

“They were complete and utter assholes! Like I don’t get it? Half of the room didn’t even turn the page of your files,” Seungcheol stresses as he paces back and forth inside Jeonghan’s room who was currently rummaging through his closet.

“Cheol it’s fine,”

“Not it isn’t, they were being snobs and I wanted to punch Cathy in the nose,” He collapses on the other’s bed. “What are you doing?”

“Looking for something suitable to wear on my first day,”

“Your first da-” Seungcheol jumps off the bed, dumbstruck, “You got the job?!”

Holding a while dress shirt, he peeks out of his walk-in closet, out of the bathroom to see Seungcheol’s face, laughing when he gets tackled into a hug, dropping the shirt on the floor, they stumble a bit, Jeonghan’s back hitting the wall.

“That’s amazing!” The older pulls back only then realizing the compromising position.

Jeonghan looks down on the floor, not sure where to look since Seungcheol is awfully close. He felt his palms grow sweaty when the other made no indications of moving. Until his phone rang.

Fishing it out of his pocket, Jeonghan already knew who it was.

“Hello? Hey Jen,” Seungcheol greets her, walking away, leaving Jeonghan alone in an empty bathroom, with an empty feeling in his chest.

 

*

 

Giving his daughter a hug when she enters his office, he asks the daily question, “How was school today Jae?”

“Someone pushed me down.”

“Aww sweetie, are you okay?” Seungcheol asks.

“Did you push them back?” Jeonghan demands.

“No, they’re older than me.”

“Uh huh, really?” Jeonghan’s eyebrow twitches a little, “Seungcheol.”

“On it.” Her dad whips out his phone, most likely already contacting the school.

 

*

 

“Is there a reason you’re blond?”

“I don’t know. Is there a reason you got a face lift?”

“That’s extremely unprofessional!”

“Yeah well so is not reading my entire résumé and asking me about my hair,” He taps the stack of papers on the desk, “Now get out of my ass, Becky.”

“I’m Barbara.”

“And I’m displeased. Life’s tough Debra.”

 

“You got a complaint,” Seungcheol sighs, “Again.”

“Was it Barbie again? Because she already told me she’s going to file a harassment report.”

“Hani, I hope you know this goes in your records.”

“And I have my own for her,” He pulls out about five more complaint forms, “This is for her discriminating against me because I’m gay. This one is also one for her calling me a ‘queer’ I don’t find it offensive since I really don’t give a fuck but I checked with HR and they do. Um… this one is also for her spilling coffee in the break room and not cleaning it up. It doesn’t pertain to me, it’s just a safety hazard,” he shuffles through the other papers, not noticing the look of amusement and adoration in Seungcheol’s eyes, “Also, she needs to consider wearing that thing ladies wear under their skirts; I am all for letting women wear what they want, but I don’t think the purpose of that skirt is to reveal her panties. Then lastly, this isn’t a complaint; but more of my journalistic nature seeping out of me. I got Josh to look into the company record and she most definitely got a face-lift, but she used the company card for it.”

“How do you have time for this?” He asks, not the least bit mad.

“I’m good at my job. And you know me with time-management,” Jeonghan gives him a cheeky smile. “My job is to look out and help with the reputation and public image of this company; do you want it tarnished by a homophobic, klutzy woman who takes your money?”

“Oh God, what am I going to do with you.”

 

*

 

“Hey yeah, I’ll meet you in the lobby,” Seungcheol says into his phone. He backtracks when he passes Jeonghan’s desk. Looming over him, he opens his mouth with a small “Ah.” Without even looking, Jeonghan puts a strawberry in his mouth. After being fed, Seungcheol resumes his walk towards the elevator.

Jeonghan’s desk neighbor, Wendy raises an eyebrow at the whole ordeal. It was so natural and relationshipy.

“Did you get boss’s email?” Wendy pokes her head over their divider.

“No? About what?”

“The new pitch.”

“Oh. That? No yeah, he told me about it last night,” Jeonghan refocuses on the files that were sent to him. He needed to come up with strategy to get more buyers.

“Are him and Jennie still together?”

Obviously he didn’t do too well at hiding how the name struck a chord in him since she gave him a shit-eating grin. “Yeah… They are.”

“I heard it bugs Jennie that you live with him.”

“Well it shouldn’t.”

“I think it’s hilarious that you’re the competition.”

“There’s no competition,” He chides, “And if there were, do you really think his daughter would let me go anywhere?”

“You’re a homewrecker!” Wendy laughs, taking pleasure in teasing Jeonghan.

“Technically isn’t she?” Jeonghan counters, “I’m the one living with him, and she came around… So, who’s _really_ the homewrecker?”

Her entire face drops as the light-bulb went off in her head, “Holy shit… You just pulled some psychological bullshit on me.”

 

*

 

“Jeonghan!” Jihoon approaches his desk the next day, “I know you like keeping relationships strictly professional but I’m doing this as a favor.”

“What?”

“One of my guys from Marketing, he has a thing for you and I was hoping you’d go on a date with him so I can stop hearing him complain about ‘Jeonghan’s so hot,’ or ‘Should I just ask him out?’ or ‘I’m gonna do it! Wait no!’ so please, Hani, for my sanity, go out with him.”

“I don’t even know who it is.”

“Johnny.”

Both Wendy and Jeonghan choke on their own spit. “Johnny?!”

“Go out with him, oh my god do it. Do it for all the girls who can’t,” Wendy almost jumps over her desk.

“Johnny Seo… wants to date me?” He points to himself, “That… adorable, tall giant from Chicago?”

Johnny was one of the many attractive men who work in the building. Luckily for both men and women, he’s bi, so everyone has a chance. But it seems he’s taken a liking to Jeonghan.

“Is that a yes?”

“Hell yeah it’s a yes!”

The answer surprised Jihoon immensely, “Wow, I really thought you were going to say no.”

“Why?”

“Because…” Jihoon almost explains, eyes traveling to the approaching figure, “Because.”

Seungcheol stops at his desk, curious as to why his employees were huddled together, “What are you guys talking about?”

“Nothing.” Jeonghan says all too quickly.

“Jeonghan’s going on a date with Johnny!” Wendy blurts out.

“You… are?”

He nods meekly.

“A… a date? You are going on a date. With someone. As in, you and Johnny are going out together, as- as… date?” Their boss became a stuttering mess.

“Why?” Wendy once again, almost throws herself over the desk in curiosity, “Is that a problem sir?”

“No… nope not at all.” He shakes his head sipping his coffee.

“Yeah, Jihoonie just set it up for me,” Jeonghan says innocently before going back to work. Wendy watches as Seungcheol’s gaze turns deadly in his best friend’s direction, a knowing look forms on her face.

“Can I talk to you, Lee. Over in my office, away. From… you know… Humanity,” he almost growls the last word before walking back to his office.

 

“A date? You got him a fucking date? You’re supposed to give him reports! Not dates with tall, dark and handsome from marketing!”

Jihoon picks at his nails lazily, before adjusting his ring in front of his best friend, “Do you see this?” he points to the engagement ring, “This is commitment. Something you lack. Jeonghan deserves someone who is _single_ , and open about their _feelings_ for him.” His CFO explains slowly. “You’re in a relationship Cheol. Don’t be selfish. It’s not like I forced him on the date– wait I begged, but once I said it was Johnny he was on board.”

“I know but-”

“Choi. Stop. You’ve been dating Jennie for almost four months now. And Jeonghan’s going on a date. Let go.”

It is a big feat. This is one of the longest relationships Seungcheol has been able to maintain. Jennie is a nice girl too, so he can’t really ruin it now. Maybe it was about time to let it go.

 

*

 

“I don’t think you should go out with him anymore!” He definitely isn’t going to let this go. He was really hoping that his little thing with Johnny would have ended by now, but it’s a month into it and yet there was no sign of stopping it.

“What?! Why?”

“Because… Jae doesn’t like him!” He lies. “So, you have to break up with him.”

Hearing her name, she turns around in her seat to face them, “Jae is it true you don’t like Johnny?”

“Uhhh…” Jae’s eyes flicker to her dad’s in panic, unsure how to answer that question since she’s only met Johnny twice. She sees her dad vigorously shaking his head yes, pleading her to say that yes, she does not like him. So, she looks back at Jeonghan giving him a hesitant “Yes...”

“Why not?”

Having more confidence, she looks at Seungcheol once more, a devious look in her eye, “I don’t know. I don’t like Jennie either.”

Seungcheol’s jaw drops, betrayed while Jeonghan turns around, a triumphant look in his face as he presses his tongue against his cheek, “Well would you look at the Cheol, looks like you have to break up with Jennie since your daughter doesn’t like her either.”

 

“He’s insufferable!”

“He’s jealous.” Wendy and Joshua sing simultaneously. “Just accept the fact that your relationship with your sugar daddy is not an open one.”

“Oh he’s your sugar daddy?” Wendy gapes, “He did get you your Rolex!”

“Cheol isn’t my sugar daddy! And we aren’t in a relationship. You’re one to talk about that stuff. You actually have one.”

“Correction. Seokmin is my Glucose Guardian,” Joshua wipes his mouth, “I am older than him by almost two years and we determined that we shouldn’t use something so defining; Thus, Glucose Guardian.”

“You’re milking this, aren’t you?”

As if on cue, Seokmin enters the break room, approaching them, “So much – Glucose Guardian!”

He didn’t have to turn to see Seokmin’s bright smile; their love made him gag because it’s so tooth rottingly cute.

“This company is so gay.”

“I love it.” Wendy giggles sipping her coffee.

Jeonghan cranes his neck at his co-worker, “Don’t tell me.”

“I won’t,” she beams at him, “But I could get Irene to tell you.”

“Cheol’s secretary? Really?”

“We’re kicking the conservative baby boomers out!” She holds her hand up receiving a high-five from Seokmin. “Millennials starting a revolution babe.”

Being single sucked.

Wait.

Fuck.

Jeonghan mentally berates himself because he completely forgot that he’s in fact, in a relationship with Johnny.  

 

*

 

“Happy birthday to you!” They all sang, clapping. “Make a wish Baby J!” Joshua shouts over the people.

Her eyes skirt over to her dad who had one arm around Jennie’s waist then over to Jeonghan who stood close to Johnny. For a brief moment, her eyes lock with her Uncle Joshua’s before blowing out the six candles. He’s the only one who really knows what goes through the kid’s mind. He never took his eyes off of her for a second, so he knew exactly what she was wishing for.

As the party went on, he approached her with his gift, “I know this isn’t what you wished for, but I’m sure it’ll make you happy.”

“You don’t know what I wished for,” She said smugly, opening the present, holding it close to her when she sees it’s a sweater that said, ‘Little J.’

“Can I guess what you wished for?”

This seemed to scare her a lot as she pushes her hands to cover his mouth, “No! If you say it, it won’t come true!” With a worried look she leans to the side to look past Joshua to get a better view of Seungcheol and Jeonghan who were on opposite sides of the room. Obvious disappointment was written on her face.

“Don’t worry Jae; big wishes take a long time to grant,” He grabs her hand leading her to her Uncle Wonwoo who had a big surprise waiting for her. As she runs into Wonwoo’s arms he feels Seokmin wrap his arms around his shoulders.

“Did she like the sweater?”

“Yeah, but I know what she’d love more,” He sighs, sparing a glance at his two idiot friends. Joshua didn’t miss the way Jeonghan’s eyes traveled to where Seungcheol’s standing and Seungcheol eyes the kitchen every once in awhile.

_‘I wish Daddy and Hani are together.’_

 

 

***

 

 

“Let’s end this Cheol,” Jennie nods to herself.

Astonished, Seungcheol blinks, “Is there something I did wrong?”

She bites her bottom lip, a breathy sigh follows, “You don’t treat me like you treat him.”

It didn’t take a genius to know who she was talking about. They had just had dinner over at his house with Jeonghan, Johnny and Jae. Everything was going smoothly while they were eating, it wasn’t until afterwards when things got a bit messy: literally. Johnny decided to help Jeonghan with the dishes, while Seungcheol and Jennie tucked Jae into bed. Coming back down the stairs, the CEO heard glass breaking in the kitchen to walk in to see one of the ceramic plates shattered on the ground. He was just about to tease Jeonghan for being careless as he grabbed the broom, however the thought flew from his mind when he saw that his hand was bleeding.

“Hani what the hell?” Seungcheol dropped the broom to the ground, rushing to his side. He cradled his hand to see a rather large cut on his palm. Out of pure instinct, he pulls the blond to the other side of the kitchen, away from Johnny and Jennie, hastily grabbing paper towels to wipe away and catch the pooling blood.

“In my defense, I tried to catch a china that probably cost more than my monthly paycheck,” Jeonghan joked trying to hide his wince when the other began patting it clean to see the wound better.

“Enough with those jokes,” Seungcheol scolded him while inspecting his hand to find any remaining shards, “You got hurt. You should have just let it fall.” He furrowed is eyebrows when he realized how deep the cut was. Reaching inside the cabinet he took the disinfectant and a bunch of gauze out. “I keep telling you, you aren’t Superman.”

“Um… I can order take-out while picking up Jae _and_ get back to the office before take-out arrives, successfully beating you out so you don’t pay for it,” Jeonghan’s face contorts when the disinfectant makes contact with his cut, “I’m fucking better than Superman.”

Seungcheol could only chuckle at the statement, “Yeah but I bet you don’t see me take some of your fried rice from your container.”

Jeonghan’s jaw dropped from the confession, “You jackass! I thought they just kept ripping me off!” he lightly pushes Seungcheol away from him who continued to laugh. In retaliation, Jeonghan had ended up pressing the gauze to the wound, keeping it away from Seungcheol’s reach who kept apologizing and laughing while trying to reach for the injury.

“Just let me put it on properly, it’s going to end up lopsided!” He said in between laughs as he watched Jeonghan try to tape the gauze on properly. It was safe to say for a full five minutes, the two had forgotten that Jennie and Johnny were there; or maybe even existed.

So, Seungcheol did see where Jennie was coming from.

“Jen, I… That’s just us. We’re close.”

“Too close,” She stresses, “I’ve tried really hard not to be the jealous girlfriend but that’s just not possible when you have that kind of relationship with Jeonghan.”

“What? What kind of relationship? Jeonghan and I have nothing between us.”

“You two- You guys have this thing where when you guys talk to each other, you guys blast off into your own little planet.”

“Well we’re… he’s… He-”

“Doesn’t have feelings, does he?”

He opens his mouth to try to say something, but only a choked sound comes out. Giving up, he lets his breath go, “I don’t think so. If he ever did, I don’t think they’re there anymore…” Seungcheol leans against his car. Jeonghan’s happy now. When he came home from his first date with Johnny he seemed so happy. He couldn’t sleep that night, he spent two hours straining his ears, listening to the younger talk on the phone with Joshua about how well the date went.

“Anymore?”

“He kissed me two years ago,” he confesses for the first time ever. It was the first thing he thought about when he woke up the next morning and all he thought about before he went to bed. It was different. It felt special. He never even told Jihoon or Seokmin about it. “And we were drunk and he kissed me… but he doesn’t know that I remember. He was talking to Joshua that morning and he wanted me not to remember. He said it was a mistake.”

“You didn’t think it was a mistake, did you?”

“I didn’t want it to be.”

“Seungcheol, you’ve been hung up about it up until now. Dating me isn’t going to change your feelings. You treat Jeonghan like he’s the reason your entire world goes around.”

“Jen, he’s with Johnny.”

“You’re telling me that he wouldn’t pick you over Johnny? Sweetie, if you ever made him choose, I can guarantee he’d choose you,” she rubs his arm before heading inside, but she stops herself wanting to say one more thing. “Do you remember how surprised I was when you asked me out? It wasn’t because the new CEO asked me out, it was because after spending a whole day with Jeonghan and you hovering over him, I just thought ‘damn, he’s the one who kept Cheol on the ground’… And he still is.”

  

 

Walking back into the house, he looks around. The broken plate all cleaned up and Jeonghan all dressed for bed. “Hey, where’s Johnny?”

“He went home already,” Jeonghan smiles. “Tonight was nice, it was fun-”

“Jenny and I broke up.” Catching Jeonghan’s full attention. And being the nice guy he is, he asks how it happened and if he was okay. “Ummm… you know, the usual, she wasn’t feeling it anymore.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, there’ll always be another girl,” Jeonghan says.

Seungcheol wants to scream at that comment. He studies the blond’s face, wanting to tell him that he’s the one. That there won’t be someone else unless it’s him. So he tries. At this point in the game, Seungcheol’s already wearing his heart on his sleeve, all Jeonghan needs to do is notice. “There _won’t_ be another girl.” He enunciates each syllable. It’s true. There isn’t going to be another girl. Because Jeonghan’s the one.

The message was clear cut. However, like most things, the universe wanted him to interpret it in a much different way than expected. “I thought that too. With guys obviously, but I thought that too.”

Jeonghan couldn’t do this. Not today. Not when he was finally feeling free from the chains Seungcheol had unintentionally strapped him to. Not when he finally didn’t feel like gravitating around him.

Not even giving Seungcheol a chance to speak, he gets up and leaves for his room. Jeonghan didn’t even know he ran to his room until he was out of breath, panting against his door. He has to close the door on this unrequited love he feels. Close it, lock it, nail it shut and throw away the keys. Because after the first year, he realized he stopped giving Seungcheol lessons and rules to follow.

 

***

 

* * *

 

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was over 11000 words like wtf, a monster. Anyway, sorry for any mistakes, I'll reread over it to fix them. and last chapter coming up but that one is legit Massive so it's split into two parts. This is the last chapter that has these kind of time jump scenes. It's all just setting up for next!  
> ALSO! I'd like to thank you all for your comments. I always mean to thank you guys because I do read them and they're so sweet and it's what makes me enjoy writing is knowing that other people enjoy it as well.  
> Shoutout to xmisscarrotx I think that's your username? Your comments makes me laugh like who are you, lets be friends! But really, all of your comments make me smile and I really appreciate them even though my writing is far from the best, I will really try hard to improve! There are so many better writers out there and I'm just really grateful you all take the time to read and try to understand my babbling! So this one's for you guys!
> 
> (If you all wanted to know what the house and the rolex looked like)  
> [Their House](https://www.houseplans.com/plan/3031-square-feet-4-bedroom-5-bathroom-2-garage-mediterranean-40476)  
> [Rolex](https://www.rolex.com/watches/datejust/m116234-0132.html)


	4. And the World Stops

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jeongcheol aint dead till i say they dead.

* * *

 

 

 

“Jae, your lunch is packed!” Seungcheol tosses the pink and purple lunch box to the corner of the counter top when the seven-year-old came running towards him.

“Is this turkey or ham?”

Starting the coffee maker, he looks over his shoulder, “Ham.”

The little girl pouts, giving the paper bag a disgusted look, “Do I at least get a cookie?”

Grabbing one of the many headbands out of a small bin, he drags one over her head, “Nope, but you get an apple and Cheez-its, baby.”

Her nose twitches a bit, disappointed that she’s not getting a good lunch today. “I’m telling Jeonghanie you didn’t give me a cookie, daddy.”

“No you’re not.” Seungcheol gasps. It’d be his own daughter turning against him. Jeonghan had promised to pack her a cookie everyday if she kept her room clean for more than a month. Except Seungcheol didn’t stop by the grocery store to pick up what the younger had asked of him the day prior.

“Tell Jeonghan what?” The blond jogs down the stairs fixing his cuff links. Making the sharp turn to get into the kitchen he bends down, giving Jae a quick kiss on the head. “Good morning.”

“Nothing,” The CEO dropped down to eye level with his daughter, whispering, “I’ll bump bed time to nine thirty, if you don’t tell him.”

She held her little hand out, giving him a pleased smile. Seungcheol scrunched his nose, taking her hand and shaking it. This girl has to run his company when he retires. 

Suddenly, she comes a lot closer to him, cupping his ear with her hand she whispers, “You should tell him you like like him.”

And once again, it’d be his own daughter. He’s astounded to say the least that his daughter has ultimately joined the bandwagon of telling him to confess his still unknown feelings for Jeonghan. If he’s been so transparent that a second-grader can notice, why can’t the man himself see it?

They both snap out of their brief exchange when Jeonghan’s voice is heard, “Jae, I have to stay late for work so Uncle Josh will pick you up today okay?”

After school, one of the two would go and pick up Jae from her school on their lunch break, and Jae would spend her time at Seungcheol’s building. Everyone knew her. She’s dubbed as ‘Seungcheol’s little princess’ who wanders around the building with either them or one of their secretaries. Nobody questioned if they found the kid coloring in one of their offices or having quick games of tag with some of his employees. She made work all the better.

“Why can’t daddy pick me up like he always does when you can’t?”

“Because daddy’s got a meeting until four,” Jeonghan, poured coffee into two thermoses, “But you can pick whose office you’ll stay in. Mine, Uncle Josh’s or Daddy’s?” He hands Seungcheol one of the thermoses.

Jae looked between her dad and Jeonghan (also known as her other dad, but she doesn’t tell them that she calls him that to her friends). “Jeonghanie’s!”

Still in need to get dressed for work, he walks them to the door, opening it up for the two, “Alright, see you two at the office!” Seungcheol gives Jae a kiss on the head and Jeonghan one on the cheek-

“Bye!” The blond closes the door and makes it a whole two steps until the gravity of the situation falls on him. Jeonghan pauses, eyes blown wide. He looks down at Jae who is holding his hand with one and her other had her mouth covered. She just witnessed the entire ordeal.

“You _do_ like like daddy.”

Ever since she started going to school, she’s been coming home with new knowledge and words that aren’t particularly school related. Jae had learned the term “Like likes” in the beginning of the year. She had immediately asked Jeonghan if he “like liked” Seungcheol, flustering the blond which caused him to hit the brakes. He asked where she had gotten that idea from and she had vividly explained how she remembered when her Uncle Josh had explained what dating was and how her friend Sarah had told her that she “Like liked” their classmate Matt.

To say Jeonghan enjoyed that newly retained knowledge would be a complete lie. He hoped that somehow, she managed to forget about it but apparently not since after three months, she brings up the stupid term once more.

“No I don’t!”

“Yes!”

“No!”

“Yes!”

“Get in the car!”

 

Seungcheol stands there, staring at the wooden door. He did not just do that. He did not just kiss Jeonghan in a domestic fashion. As if they were together. 

Were they living together? Yes. Are they raising a kid together? Yes. Is Jeonghan gay? Indeed. Is Seungcheol gay? Yes. But they are most definitely not dating. 

However, that isn’t how everybody else sees it. His mother treats Jeonghan like the perfect son-in-law, his father acts as if Jeonghan’s his own. His own best friends have grown – over the years – severely attached to his public relations director; just two months ago they had been complaining to him about how Jeonghan wasn’t there because he was sent to oversee the work being done in the east coast branch. “Why’d you have to send him to New York?” and “Yeah? That’s such a selfish move; we share your husband!” for him to respond with “Not my husband.” And they’d continue to defy him by saying “that’s your loss then.”

Hell, he went in for a parent teacher conference for Jae and her teacher had asked if it was only going to be him or will her other father be joining.

To top it all off, his daughter is now joining the long list of people who are toying with the idea of him and Jeonghan being together.

He just can’t escape the misconceptions. Not that he had any problem with them or really tried to correct them.

  

 

***

 

 

Jeonghan’s mind should be on his work. He should be focusing. As the new Director of Public Relations, he should be able to keep his attention on his work. Alas, to no avail, he fails; for the only thing occupying his mind was the goodbye kiss he wasn’t supposed to receive.

Only snapping out of it when Wendy walked through his door, he transformed into his job description. However, it only lasted for a good five minutes until his co-worker asks him to run her work through Johnny after he’s done going through it.

“No!” Jeonghan almost panics.

Wendy laughs at her now superior, “You guys broke up like four months Jeonghan. Isn’t it about time to get over whatever happened.”

Well, what happened was one day in the copy room, Johnny had come up behind him, resting his chin on his shoulder, wrapping an arm around his waist. In the moment, Jeonghan hadn’t been thinking straight, replying to the action with a “What do you want Cheol?” only for Johnny to rip away, appalled.

_“He clings onto you?”_

_“come on, he’s like a giant baby, you know him!”_

_“He’s my boss! So no! I don’t know him that well!” Johnny yelled, “How often does he do that?”_

_“When he wants something,” Jeonghan said but the look on Johnny’s face seemed to be waiting for more, “And when he’s tired… and… when he’s bored.”_

_“And you didn’t ever tell me about this because?”_

_“Why would I need to tell you about this?”_

_The expression was a mix of anger and puzzlement. Did Jeonghan really say that? Does he not know what a relationship is? “I’m your boyfriend! I should know when another guy is all over you! That’s sexual harassment! I can report him to HR if you want!”_

_Having enough of the argument he starts yelling back, “Oh my god he’s not sexual harassing me!”_

_“So you’re fine with him doing things like that when you have a boyfriend?”_

_“It just doesn’t bother me!”_

_“Because you want it to happen?”_

_“No!”_

_“Is that the reason almost half of the building hates me?” Johnny gasped, “They just kept telling me I was ruining everything for months!”_

It’s safe to say that the two ended things on a very rough note. More than an entire year of his life, wasted because Johnny couldn’t handle his unique relationship with Seungcheol.

“I’m not good with confrontation,” he tries to play it off nonchalantly.

“You’re the king of confrontation. You’d rocket yourself to Mars if you heard a Martian talk shit about you.”

“And I bet that Martian would be worth it,” He swivels back to his computer, attempting to fixate his attention to his work.

Jeonghan hears Wendy sigh “you’re so hopeless.”

 

 * 

 

“Let me breathe.”

“Jeonghan’s single! What are you waiting for? You’ve given him like three months space, make a move!” Irene pesters him, keeping her pace with her boss.

“He was in a relationship for a year! I can’t just ask him and say ‘Hey, I know you just got out of a long-term relationship, but want to be in one again?’ and not know how he feels,” Seungcheol deadpans, yanking the conference room door open. It’s still empty thankfully, giving himself enough to prepare.

He remembers very vividly how Jeonghan came into his office, demanding his attention — quiet literally — by pressing down on the phone’s hook switch, successfully hanging up on the person Seungcheol was talking to. That was probably the only time he got remotely angry at the younger, however it lasted all but two seconds when he saw how red and puffy his eyes were.

“There are no fucking strawberries in the fridge, I think Jacob from finance took them,” his voice was cracking and uneven, “and you know I eat when I’m stressed. I’m fucking stressed right now and there are no strawberries!”

He had spent almost two hours listening to Jeonghan cry and talk about how stupid Johnny was being. What hurt him the most was how when the blond explained what led to the fight, he kept going on about how Johnny had nothing to worry about and how he was reaching and how everything between them was completely harmless.

That was a lie.

Seungcheol knew exactly what he was doing. He knows what cards to play. He was waiting for them to break up. In hindsight, he really did nothing wrong. All he did was become clingier than usual.

No harm, no foul, right?

So, he spent the rest of that day consoling the blond, combing through his hair, and giving him affirmations he needed to hear.

Now, four months later, they’re back to where they were almost a year ago. Both single. And Seungcheol still feeling unsure about what to do with his feelings; if they were even real or not.

 

Cracking his neck, Seungcheol leaves the conference room, a tad bit annoyed that after finding out there had to be budget cuts, he’d be stuck in the office for the next couple of days.

Opening Jeonghan’s office he prepares for the shit storm he’d get, “Jeonghan, Jae, I’m staying a bit longer than planned is it-” his voice gets cut off when he sees his daughter sitting at Jeonghan’s desk with a woman hovering close. Jaehyun spins out of the chair and runs to him, wrapping her arms around his waist. Paternal instincts kick in as he pulls his daughter to his side, placing a protective hand on her back, “I’m sorry who are you?”

She stands up straight, undoubtedly a supermodel. “I’m looking for Jeonghan. I heard he works here.” There’s confusion written all over her face. 

“Daddy she’s been helping me with my math.”

“That’s great Sweetie,” he pats her head, not tearing his gaze from the new face. 

“You’re her dad?” She whispers, “You’re Choi Seungcheol?”

Seungcheol stares at the intruder. He studies her face only to be struck with a type of familiarity. She looks a bit like Jae. “Yes, and who are you?”

“Nayoung?” Jeonghan all but gasps when he enters his office to see it filled with all too familiar faces. There’s tension that spreads across the room instantly. Not only did Seungcheol finally re-meet the mom, Jae and Jeonghan are re-meeting her after four years.

“Jae, baby, go across the hall and tell Uncle Josh that I have something important to deal with.” Jeonghan orders, refusing to tear his gaze from her mom.

“Can he give me chocolate?”

“Yes, just this once,” He reasons, and off she went skipping down the hall, opening Joshua’s room being greeted with “What does Cheol’s princess need?”

“Are you not happy to see me?” She tries to lighten the mood. 

“No. I’m not,” Jeonghan slams the door closed, “You left me alone to take care of _your_ child! I don’t even get a word from you after that! Not being happy is one hell of an understatement!” The blond feels a hand wrap around the crook of his elbow; Seungcheol’s little hint to tell him to calm down.

“I know, I’m sorry,” she apologizes and neither are sure if she’s being sincere or not, “Jeonghan you have to understand that I couldn’t watch my daughter barely get by because her mom didn’t finish her education and her dad wasn’t there.”

“That’s what you had me for damn it!”

“I know! I know! And I’m glad you were there! But I wanted to make something of myself so when time came I could give Jae a better life!” Nayoung tries to explain herself; it only fueled Jeonghan even more.

“You told me to find Seungcheol or put her up for adoption? Which one did you think I was going to pick?”

The last time Seungcheol had seen Jeonghan this mad was when he himself fucked up three years ago. He’d pray he would never have to hear Jeonghan sound so angry and hurt, but things never go as planned.

“I know you love Jae, I know you wouldn’t be able to give her up. I wasn’t sure if you actually went to her dad or not! That’s why I came to find you!” Her voice is desperate, “I wanted to see if you still had her… and you never cease to amaze me. You’re the director of a department, you work in a skyscraper, and Jae was just in here doing homework, waiting for you.”

“Yeah well, you have Cheol to thank for that.”

“Nice to see you again Nayoung.” He greets awkwardly.

“Same here, but last time I heard from you was a break up text,” it was meant as a light joke but it struck deep with the CEO. It's still something he regrets doing, “I suppose you work here too?”

“He doesn’t just work here; he runs it,” Jeonghan crosses his arms, not enjoying the surprise on her face, “Why’d you come looking for me?”

“I want to be a part of Jae’s life again.”

The air in the room thickens even more. Seungcheol’s hand still in the crook of his arm, he can feel Jeonghan’s body burning up from rage.

It wasn’t fair. In fact, Jeonghan finds it almost insulting to him. She leaves him to raise a kid by himself, leaving him with some of the hardest decisions one could ask someone, then when things seem convenient enough, she comes back wanting to be a part of something she left and could have done herself.

“Prove it.”

Both eyes land on Seungcheol.

As Jae’s dad, he has just as much as a say in this entire situation as Jeonghan does. And he’s not going to sit around and watch Jeonghan get used once more.

“You put Han through hell and back when you left. I’m not innocent either, but I’m permanent. I’m here to stay. If you want to be a part of Jae’s life again. Prove it. Not to me though,” his eyes point to Jeonghan, “Prove it to him. Prove to him that you’re worth being in Jae’s life again.”

 

*

 

Jeonghan and Seungcheol leave Nayoung with Jae inside his office to get reacquainted once more. The younger, be that as it may, is fuming at Seungcheol’s decision. “How can you just let her do that! She can’t just walk in here after leaving me with her daughter, and demand that she becomes a part of her life again! One she walked away from! Cheol what were you thinking?” He finally stops pacing to face him.

The CEO has become a master at reading the younger. He’s very good at hiding his emotions on most days, but when he’s being pushed to his limits, they tend to show in his eyes the most. Seungcheol can see worry, doubt, anger, confusion and sadness in his eyes. In his attempt to ease the worry, he slides his hands on both sides of Jeonghan’s face, cradling his head, lightly rubbing his jawline with his thumb. “Hey, it’s going to be fine. She was your best friend, give her a chance. You gave me one, might as well give her one too.”

One thing Jeonghan didn’t understand was this. Their dynamic. This isn’t something that friends do. It’s something people who are in a relationship do, or at least have feelings. That wasn’t them. He knows because just the other day he asked Irene for Seungcheol’s reviews and he caught a glimpse of a yellow lethal pad with names scribbled down on them. When he asked Irene what they were she panicked, telling him he wasn’t supposed to see that. That being a list of girls who have called asking for Seungcheol, only for his secretary to take a name and number so he could get back to them.

The disgusting feeling had risen in him after he asked how long she’d been doing that for him to only find out he’s been having her do that ever since he became the CEO. She had tried to cover for him by telling him Seungcheol never even gives them calls back, only the really important ones that actually deal with business, but it was enough for Jeonghan to know that he was still where he forever will be.

The gay friend who fell for the straight one.

Not giving into his impulse to lean into Seungcheol’s hands, he backs away, letting his hands fall to the side. It’s much harder done than said. “Okay. We’ll give her a chance. She’s the mom. She deserves a chance.”

 

 

***

 

 

Seungcheol allows Nayoung to stay in their pool house for the mean time. She’s impressed to say the least with their homey yet lavished life style.

“This really does beat the one bed room apartment,” She laughs, still a bit in awe as her eyes wondered around the house. Jeonghan smiles slightly at the comment. Memories of the two taking care of Jae reemerged in his head. It was small and cozy, but it was home at the time.

“Yeah well, with Cheol, this is as quaint as possible,” Jeonghan takes Jae’s backpack, placing it on the coat rack.

The little girl runs up to her mom taking her hand, “Mommy, let me show you the pool! It’s still too cold to go swimming but still!” She drags her along excitedly.

Jae was thrilled to know her mom came back. Surprisingly, she still remembered a couple of memories from before her mom left that her and Nayoung got to bond over on their way home.

For dinner, Seungcheol felt like it’s the appropriate time to whip out his impressive cooking skills for a special occasion.

Nayoung leans over the counter, watching as Seungcheol slid some ingredients onto the pan, curious as to what he’s cooking. “Paella.”

“Daddy’s really good at cooking,” Jae says proudly, “He tried to teach Hani because Hani can’t cook.” She giggles, trying really hard to whisper, not wanting the latter to hear her.

Jeonghan covers his phone’s mic, leaning towards their direction from the other room, “Hani heard you, and he’s going to make sure you go to bed at nine tonight.” The father daughter duo turns to him, jaws dropped. He raises an eyebrow in triumph, “that’s right. I heard you this morning. I expect the pantry to be full by this time tomorrow.” He declares before returning to his call. As usual, nothing gets by him.

“So, Nayoung, what do you do?” Seungcheol decides that small talk wouldn’t hurt too much.

“I’m a model. I do gigs here and there for Victoria Secret, Vogue, Dior, but I’m not like an Angel. No commitment to a set one.” Nayoung nods, “I usually do gigs with my friend Kyulkyung.”

“Kyulkyung?” He turns abruptly, “As is, Jieqiong? Pinky?”

“Yeah, oh my God, you know her?”

“We went to Stanford together!” Seungcheol laughs in disbelief, “I graduated a year before her. Smart girl she was. She’s a model?”

“She does! Mostly part-time though because she works in advertising for her dad for the most part,” Nayoung explains, “That’s insane! Do you know who Jun is?”

“I know his boyfriend,” he says, “Minghao’s the COO over in our New York branch.”

“What a small world,” She sighs.

Jae smiles and laughs along although she only really understands half of what’s going on. It soon faded when she looks around, not finding Jeonghan anywhere. Wanting to ask one of her parents where he is, she couldn’t find an opening to ask either one.

Taking it into her own hands, she hops off the stool, and walks towards the veranda. “I’ll see what I can do…” the rest of the conversation is something Jae can’t understand, for her Korean isn’t as advanced as Seungcheol’s or Jeonghan’s.

“Hani!” She calls, successfully getting her guardian’s attention. The little girl hears him say goodbye, stuffing his phone inside the pocket of his slacks.

“Why aren’t you inside with your mom and dad,” he takes her hand to lead them back inside.

“You weren’t there,” Jae pouts. Jeonghan just ruffles her hair as a response.

 

 

***

 

 

Saturday’s are blessings to all office workers in existence. Yawning as he turns the corner, Jeonghan’s startled to see Nayoung in the kitchen, completely forgetting she’s staying in the pool house. “Oh God, good morning. Scared the shit out of me,” he scratches the back of his neck, taking a seat on top of the island. He ignores the odd look his former-best friend gave him as he crossed his legs, reaching for an apple in the bowl next to him. “Cheol awake yet?”

“Yeah, he just went to check his emails in the study,” she points behind her.

Hopping off the kitchen island, he drags himself to the archway, yelling across the foyer, “It’s Saturday! Stop working you freak of nature!” before waddling back over to take his spot back on top of the counter.

The raven-haired man appears not even a minute later, stopping in front of Jeonghan who’s biting into the apple. “Is that the last apple?”

He stops mid-bite, peaking at the bowl next to him to see only oranges and bananas left. Slowly he nods, finishing his bite. With unspoken words, Seungcheol holds his hand out while Jeonghan reluctantly gave him the rest of the apple. “You know this is your fault for not going grocery shopping, right?” He blames him with his mouth full.

“Yes, I accept my fate,” he admits, biting where Jeonghan left off.

The sight before Nayoung seems so odd, yet so normal. She couldn’t quite put a finger on it. Seeing that Seungcheol’s heading for the coffee maker, she stops him, handing him another cup from behind her, “I made you some.”

“Really?” He looks down at the cup; coffee a light brownish color.

“I didn’t know how you liked it so I made it like mine. Spoon of sugar and-”

“Creamer and honey?” Seungcheol finishes her sentence after he takes a sip. “That’s exactly it.”

Both turn when they hear Jeonghan gagging.

Nayoung snickers at the reaction, “Is he still-”

“Pure black coffee?” He sips his own, “Yup.”

The two fall into a casual conversation about Jae and her school. Jeonghan on the other hand, watches the two intently. The two have already become acquainted quite fast and Jeonghan isn’t too sure how he feels about that.

Quietly leaving the kitchen he looks back at the two once more, he finds himself smiling when Seungcheol smiles. But it wasn’t at him, it was at Nayoung. Jae’s mom.

_‘Jae’s mom.’_

The CEO’s eyes follow Jeonghan as he leaves the living room, out of sight by the time he reached the stairs. As Nayoung talks about wanting to spend more time with Jae, his eyes fall on his coffee mug.

He only ever drank coffee when he really needed to. Until one day when Jeonghan made coffee one morning back in the penthouse, he offered to make him some. Expecting bitter black coffee in his mug, he received sweet brown coffee that tasted like heaven. Ever since then, Seungcheol’s been hooked.

Yet with the same ingredients, his coffee today didn’t taste as sweet.

 

 

***

 

 

“She’s back?” Wonwoo chokes on his water.

Jeonghan sighs, leaning into his friend’s couch, “Yeah. She wants to be apart of Jae’s life again. The happy family’s at the playground right now.”

It’s not that Jeonghan wasn’t thrilled that Nayoung’s actually making an effort, it’s just that there’s this feeling in the pit of his stomach that just isn’t sitting well with him.

“And you’re okay with that?” Joshua pops an m&m in his mouth, “I mean, not gonna lie, yeah we’ve missed her but we can’t just forgive her for abandoning you and Jae.”

“I’m with Shua on this. Jeonghan you’ve worked hard and built a life, and she’s just going to take it from you?”

Jeonghan stares at the blank tv screen, pondering on what his friends have just said. It’s been two weeks and Jeonghan’s impressed. Nayoung has been perfect through and through. It’s just like how they were but with an extra set of hands. Which kind of left Jeonghan just watching.

Every time he’d go do something Nayoung would jump in and tell him to relax and she’d handle it. Even reaching for Jae’s backpack Nayoung would do the job. It was great really, she’s showing him and them all that she’s serious about being a mom and being a part of Jae’s life once more. He knows Nayoung means no harm, she’s just being an over enthusiastic mom. However, with her in the picture, there seemed to be nowhere for Jeonghan to stand. Which, now that he thinks about it, made sense. He’s there because the dad was missing then the mom was missing. But now the picture’s whole, what does that really mean? 

_'She can't take anything if nothing really belonged to me.'_

 

 

***

 

 

“We’re at the park right now,” Nayoung says into the phone. She waves at Jae. Her daughter wanted to go roller skating with some of her friends from school. “No she’s with Eliza and Sarah.”

“Alright; she usually wants ice cream after playing outside so tell her no,” Seungcheol instructs. “It’s a Tuesday and she gets sugar highs after an hour.”

“What if she tries to persuade me? She’s been doing that lately?”

“Tell her _Jeonghan_ said no,” His voice dead serious over the line.

There is only so much that can prevent the little girl from doing things, and it’s most definitely not her own father. Damn Seungcheol for being the biggest push-over there is when it comes to raising Jae instead of the hard-ass CEO he is during the day. Leave it to Jeonghan to be the only one who’s able to discipline the high-maintenance child of a millionaire.

Nayoung could only reply with a faint laugh. There is no doubt about it at this point. She’s pissed. Not at Jeonghan though; never. She’s furious with herself that she wasn’t there. Jeonghan’s the one who’s teaching her daughter rules and manners. He’s the one who got to witness everything; the one who truly knows Jae inside out. Yes, Nayoung was there for her first steps and words while Seungcheol was there for her first day of school and teaching her how to ride a bike. Yet, Jeonghan’s the one who got to be through it all.

She only had herself to blame for missing out on so much of her own daughter’s life and allowing Jeonghan to be the one to raise her. The model will never be able to let herself live that down and will never know how to repay her best friend for what he’s been doing.

“You still there?”

Jolting her back to reality, Nayoung is about to respond when the sound of plastic scrapping the cement and a loud thud is heard. “Jae!” She shouts, alarming Seungcheol. His voice sounds worried as the mom runs towards Jae who’s being helped up by her friends and is already surrounded by the other moms.

On her knees, she inspects her daughter, sucking air in between her teeth when she sees a rather large wound on her chin covered in gravel, bleeding profusely.

“Mommy it hurts,” Jae tips her head back to give her a better look at the injury. It’s more of a complaint than a cry for help. Nayoung examines the rest of her body and sees a couple more scrapes and cuts on her arms and knees. Fumbling with her phone she rushes to inform Seungcheol about the fall. He orders her to go straight to a clinic not completely sure how bad it is.

Sending a quick text to Jeonghan, he rushes out of his office to meet them at the clinic.

“Hey, it’s fine, she’s fine. A couple of scrapes she’s fine,” Seungcheol soothes Nayoung once he spots her anxiously pacing in the waiting room.

She tries to explain but it comes out as a stuttering mess, “I looked away for a-a minute and then her- she’s bleeding-”

“This could have happened with me or Jeonghan or anybody, don’t beat yourself up. Jae clumsy, we all know it,” he tries to lighten the mood, brushing strands of hair away from her face. “She’s just getting stitched up, it’s no big deal. She’s a tough girl.” He rubs her arms trying his best to calm her down.

Within seconds Jeonghan is running, turning the corner of the hall, almost skidding to a stop when he sees Seungcheol and Nayoung standing there. _Together_. As Jae’s parents.

An uneasy feeling rises in his chest as he slowly backs away behind the wall. He sees a nurse approach the two, asking if they’re Jaehyun’s parents. Both nod as they’re lead into one of the rooms, Seungcheol’s arm protectively around Nayoung’s shoulder. As he should. Because they’re a family.

Jae’s family. Jae’s _parents_. Her mom and her dad.

“What am I doing here?” Jeonghan chides himself. Pushing his weight onto the wall, he stares at his shoes. What is he doing here? One minute he gets a text from Seungcheol about Jae getting hurt, and the next he’s here; but why?  “I have no reason to be here…”

The feeling in his chest grows heavier as he turns around to leave; completely missing Seungcheol stepping out into the waiting room, looking for the one who already left.

 

  

***

 

 

Seungcheol and Nayoung are in the kitchen cooking dinner, so Jeonghan sat with Jae near the coffee table having a coloring contest with her. The raven-haired man had interrogated him as to why he wasn’t at the clinic, only for him to lie, saying he didn’t get the text until later the day. Luckily for him, Seungcheol had been gullible enough to believe him.

His eyes flicker to her for a second before returning to his paper, “How would you feel if I left Jae?”

“Why would you leave?” Jae stops coloring, her eyebrows knitting together.

Apparently, his distraction tactic didn’t work too well, “You have your mommy and daddy. I can’t stay forever.”

“Yes, you can. You just don’t leave. That’s how you stay forever.” She says a matter-of-factly, making him sound like he was dumb.

Jeonghan simply nods, “Okay.”

It was a harmless question really. The blond has been feeling a bit out of place; feeling as though he could be doing more to help out. So, he simply asks. He needed a bit of reassurance.

 

“How’s it going?” Jeonghan grins at her coming back down the stairs for a late-night snack. She sat alone on the couch, drinking a cup of tea.

“Amazing, Han, I think it’s going to work out,” She says a bit too enthusiastic for his liking.

The blond’s chest constricts. He feigns his optimism, “that’s amazing. You guys are getting along well.”

“Seungcheol’s such an amazing Father, I wish I went to him sooner. But I’m glad you did.”

“Yeah, no. Cheol’s amazing. He always tries to find time for her. His dad actually loves Jae, so it’s all perfect.” Jeonghan compliments him quietly, not wanting Seungcheol to hear from his room even though he was quite far. _‘He’s perfect.’_

“And guess what?” She adjusts her positon on the couch so she’s fully facing him, “I told him I wanted to not only be a part of Jae’s life, but that I wanted to try and be a family with them. And he told me he felt the same! Can you believe it?”

He’s a silly man. That’s what he’s chanting in his head. A silly, silly man. Because back then, he thought he felt his heart drop when Seungcheol began dating Jennie. Before, he convinced himself his heart broke when Johnny dumped him, not because of the break up, but because there was truly no way out of Seungcheol’s clutches. Years ago, he considered realizing his feelings for Seungcheol was painful. But this? This stinging he feels in his chest, as if shards of glass had flown into him, embedding themselves into his lungs making it hard to breathe? The feeling of his heart beating but feeling so dead inside? Nothing compares to the pain of his heart shattering into dust.

And even though Jeonghan’s able to take a break everyone once and a while, his heart can’t seem to catch one. So, being Jeonghan; he up-turns his lips, brightens his lifeless eyes and raises the pitch in his voice, putting on the best show he could possibly pull.

“That’s great news! I’m so happy for you!”

 

 

***

 

 

Jeonghan tentatively enters Seungcheol’s office, nervously fiddling with the paper in his hand, unsure how to approach him. Ever since he was informed of them trying to become a family, his entire universe had flipped upside down. It’s like he barely knew how to talk to either of them now.

“Cheol can you sign off on this?”

“Yeah, sure give me a second,” Seungcheol mumbles before finishing typing his email, moving around his desk, he leans on the front taking the paper, “What is this for?”

“Oh, it’s for my-”

“Seungcheol, you ready?” Nayoung pokes her head inside, “Oh Jeonghanie! You’re coming with us for lunch, right?”

“You guys are having lunch?” Feeling a bit hollow inside. He didn’t know what to expect anyway.

“Crap, that’s what I forgot to do,” Seungcheol drops his arms to his side, “Jeonghan, come with us to lunch, we’re going to that sushi place you really like.”

“No, no it’s fine. Go without me!” he takes the papers, seeing the signature he heads out, “Are you guys going to pick up Jae too?”

“Can we? I wanna see where she goes to school and meet the teacher!” Nayoung grabs hold of Seungcheol’s arm.

The CEO agrees, facing Jeonghan again, “What’s that form for? I didn’t get a good look.”

He glances at the apprehensively, like it would catch on fire any second, “Don’t worry about it; it’s just for this thing next week.”

Seungcheol eyes him, a doubtful look in his eyes, but still nods, making note to ask him later.

Almost bolting out of there, Jeonghan tries really hard to scrub the image of his old best friend clinging onto his person.

 

 

*** 

 

 

Jae watches from the living room as her mom and her dad spoke in the kitchen, laughing and talking about whatever there is to talk about with Wonwoo and Mingyu. Ever since her fall, the little girl has been noticing something. She angles her head to the side a bit, examining them as if it there is something off about the picture.

“Whatcha thinking about kiddo?” Seokmin drops onto the couch next to her, pinching her cheek, being cautious not to spill his wine; it’s wine night in ‘Casa de Choi-Yoon.’

“My mommy’s back… and I think she likes daddy...” the little girl squints, before leaning closer to Seokmin, “like... like likes him. You feel me?”

Playing along, Seokmin squints as well, resting his chin on his palm, “I think you’re right Jae. Isn’t that a good thing? You get your mom and dad?”

Jae snaps her head towards her ‘uncle’ and slaps her hands over her cheeks in exaggerated shock, “No it isn’t!” She scrambles closer to Seokmin, grabbing his face to spin it to look over to Jeonghan and Joshua who were outside with Jihoon and Soonyoung. “Hani and Daddy are supposed to be together! Not mommy and daddy!”

Turns out his boyfriend really wasn’t lying when he said Jae knew exactly what she wanted from life. “Hey Jae,” he picks her up, plopping her down on his lap, carefully avoiding the bandages on her body, “I’m going to teach you a new word okay?” she nods in excitement, “It’s called _love_.”

“But I know what love means silly,” She pokes his cheek, “I love you, Uncle Josh and Uncle Wonwoo. I love daddy, I love Hani and I love mommy. What more is there?”

Seokmin knows she loves Jihoon, Soonyoung and Mingyu, but he’s just going to bask in the moment and maybe rub it in their faces later that Jae didn’t verbally say she loved them. “But this is a different kind of love,” he smiles at her confused reaction, “It’s just a better and stronger ways of saying ‘like likes’ Jae. I love you, but I am _in love_ with your Uncle Josh.”

Jae tilts her head a bit, trying to wrap her mind around the new terminology of love, “So my mommy is in love with daddy?” Her voice sounding all too disappointed.

“Well, I think she just likes your dad. Love is a lot stronger than like.”

“So… Mommy likes daddy but daddy’s in love with Jeonghanie?”

Seokmin is grinning from ear to ear, spreading his arms out in triumph, “Perfect! You got this down!”

A little way past the sliding glass doors, the ones outside are having a different conversation.

Pulling Jeonghan closer to the pool away from his friends, Joshua puts his wine down. He’d feel wrong if he continued to turn a blind eye on what he’s been picking up on in the past couple of days. The blond’s behavior is far from normal and Joshua’s set on prying it out of him.

“Nothing’s wrong.”

“Fess up,” He bends his fingers repeatedly, waiting for the confession, “You’re not you and Jihoon and I have noticed. But you know him; he doesn’t like meddling. Except I do, so explain.”

Jeonghan looks everywhere other than his best friend’s face before settling on the clear color of his wine, “Have you ever watched those space documentaries where they’re recording and they show you how big and round earth is? I feel like that…” He whispers the last part, “It’s like I’m that astronaut floating around aimlessly in space, watching as the world goes round.”

“World being Seungcheol, Jae and Nayoung?”

After a couple seconds he confirms Joshua’s hunch, “It’s like I have no purpose anymore. Like I’m here to just take up space.” There’s something he spots in Joshua’s face. It’s like he’s refusing to tell him something. “What is it? You want to say something? Say it.”

“Jeonghan, it’s been over four years,” Joshua says hesitantly, trying real hard not to step on any fragile spots. “You said you were going to leave once Seungcheol’s ready to become a dad. And he has.”

Now he knows precisely what his best friend was getting at. Thinking about it now, he said he wouldn’t leave until that happened. With him saying that, it did mean that he was going to leave eventually. “Yeah… he has.”

“Then why are you still living with him? I know it’s not for Jae at this point. At least, it isn’t purely for Jae,” The accountant murmurs, unsure about the reaction he’d get.

“I guess I was just, hoping…” Jeonghan trails off, refusing to finish his sentence. _‘That somehow he’d fall in love.’_

But as per usual, Joshua knows everything. “You know how I feel about this. I’d love if something were to happen between you and Cheol. I _want_ something to happen. But you can’t stay anymore. Your life doesn’t have to revolve around them anymore. Seungcheol’s a great dad, Nayoung’s doing her best.” He places a hand on the other’s shoulder, trying hard to get the blond to look at him, “Jeonghan, if I’m going to be honest; you don’t have to be there anymore. You’re not a safety net anymore. Stop torturing yourself.”

Huh. That’s what he’s been doing. Torturing himself. Who knew?

 

*

 

_“I think it’s time for you to leave them.”_

 

_*_

 

Zipping up his backpack, he picks his duffle bag up off the floor, shutting off the lights in his room. Quietly, he walks down the stairs, looking into the dark living room, the only light source is a lamp in the corner of the room.

Jeonghan reaches into his back pocket, double checking his passport and plane ticket. A sad smile appears. Digging out his keys from his coat pocket, he walks out of the house, locking the door behind him.

 

_*_

 

_“Don’t worry,” Jeonghan downs the rest of his wine in one go. He stares through the glass doors, eyes focusing on Seungcheol and Nayoung enjoying each other’s company, “I’ve already started.”_

 

 

 

***

 

 

“Jeonghanie?” Jae skips down the staircase looking left and right for the blond. Looking lost, she walks into the kitchen to see only his parents talking over a cup of coffee. “Daddy, where’s Hani?”

“Is he not in his room?” Seungcheol asks putting his coffee mug down. It’s only Sunday, and usually Jeonghan isn’t up until eleven. Nayoung gives an equally puzzled look. 

“I said goodnight to him last night after we cleaned the dishes,” she recalls. There was absolutely no way she imagined it. “He even went upstairs before I went to the pool house.”

Seungcheol steps out of the kitchen area, calling Jeonghan’s name. “Jeonghan!” No response. He takes a peak out their window and doesn’t see his car. “That’s unlike him, he’s never up before me or leaves the house before noon.”

Jae begins to pout, he never leaves without saying goodbye.

Seungcheol jogs up the stairs towards Jeonghan’s room, unknowing that his daughter is following right behind. He swings the door open to find the bed neatly made and the closet in the bathroom open. A good portion of his clothes had been removed and his duffle along with a couple of shoes were missing. 

A feeling of overwhelming dread washes over him, not wanting to comprehend what all the clues are pointing to. So, he stares. He stares at the absence of Jeonghan’s belongings. How his toothbrush is missing. How the empty hangers dangled, and the clothes he rarely wears are still untouched.

“Hani’s gone?” 

Whipping his head around, his daughter is on the verge of tears when she sees Seungcheol’s panicked face. “No, no, he’s- he’s not gone, he’s just...” he’s trying to come up with an answer on the spot but he’s never good at those, not as good as Jeonghan.

“He left us?” His daughter sniffs, wiping the snot from her face, “Jeonghanie left...”

“I’m sure he didn’t leave, some of his stuff is still here,” Nayoung tries to soothe when she reaches the top of the stairs.

“It’s your fault!” Jae basically screams, startling both her parents. Never once, has his daughter ever screamed like that; in fact, she’s never even screamed like that towards anybody. “You made Hani leave!”

“Jae, baby no, I didn’t tell him to leave-”

“Yes you did!” She cries, tears falling fast down her face, “It’s supposed to be me, daddy and Hani! But you made it me, daddy and mommy! That’s not how it’s supposed to be!” She angrily turns to Nayoung, “Daddy’s supposed to like Hani! But now he doesn’t because of you! He left because of you!”

Her memory doesn’t fail her as she remembers the conversation she had with Jeonghan just a week ago. Him asking how it’d be if he left. How because she has both parents, he can’t stay.

Rushing to her, Seungcheol kneels in front of his daughter, wiping away her tears, “No, it’s okay. Daddy still likes Jeonghanie. I like Jeonghanie okay, nobody’s to blame. I like your mommy and Jeonghanie. Your mommy isn’t to blame. He’ll come back okay?”

Jae’s mind goes back to the conversation she had with her Uncle Seokmin. How “like like” could also be called “love” and not in the same way he loves her. “No he won’t ‘cause you don’t love him!” She sobs to the point where she’s almost hyperventilating.  

“Yes I do,” he confesses as he combs the stray hairs out of her face, “I love Jeonghanie. I love him very much.”

“No you don’t!”

“Yes I do, baby, I do. I love Jeonghan a lot okay? I promise. Remember when you learned about the planets and I said I loved you to Pluto and back?” He hunkers down a bit more to meet his daughter’s eyes. She simply nods, “Well I love Jeonghan to Neptune and back. Do you know how far that is?”

Wiping away her tears she gasps a bit for air, trying to steady her breath, “Very far. The second farthest planet.”

“So that means I love him that much. Not as much as I love you, but a close second.”

“Then why isn’t he here if you love him?”

“I...” that question seemed to finally stump him. “I don’t know.”

That’s when it all hits her. The look in Jeonghan’s eyes the other night when she told him they wanted to become a family, the way he’d been acting, the concerned looks given to each other, the subtle touches and pointless exchanges; Nayoung gets it.

“You don’t just love him, you’re in love with him, aren’t you?” Nayoung asks when Seungcheol finally got their daughter to calm down. She ended up falling asleep, exhausted from the crying.

He pauses at the bottom step of the stairs, taken aback from the abrupt question. The answer is simply really; yes. Yes, he does.

“I don’t know...”

“Yes you do,” She smiles weakly, “As much as I try to deny it, you do. As much as I suppressed the idea, it’s still clear as day. I’m the mom and yet I’m the one who ruined a perfectly functional family.”

The dad thinks back the other week, his conversation with Nayoung about wanting to become a family. Wanting to give a normal life to Jae where she has both parents. That’s what they wanted. “Jae needs a mom-”

“No, she doesn’t,” she shook her head, “Jeonghan’s a super human. He was both the mom and dad even when we took care of her together. Jaehyun doesn’t need me. She needs you and Jeonghan.”

Seungcheol stares at the empty spot on the key hanger. His dangled there with an empty slot next to it. Jeonghan has always been there for him and with him. There isn’t a time he remembers before Jeonghan showed up in his life. Jae doesn’t just need Jeonghan, he needs Jeonghan. But he may have just lost the person he needed most.

 

 

***

 

* * *

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They dead.  
> (Sorry for any mistakes)  
> Final chapter coming soon~~~


	5. Then it goes round again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You ready for this?  
> @ me on Twitter @HVCHW3 lmfao

Seungcheol came into work the next day and went straight to Irene when he saw that Jeonghan’s door was closed. “Where’s Mister Yoon?” He asked the secretary. It’s very unusual for Seungcheol to call Jeonghan by his last name.

“He’s on a leave of absence sir…?”

“A leave of absence? He didn’t tell me about it.”

Irene gave him a puzzled look, “Seungcheol… you signed off on it.” She lifts a couple of papers, searching for the form. Handing it to him, “He submitted it last week.”

His eyes burn holes into the ink at the bottom of the paper. That’s surely his signature; clear as day. “For how long?”

“It says until further notice,” She says softly, only now realizing that her boss really didn’t know about Jeonghan going MIA, “He’s appointed Wendy as his replacement for the time being.”

Hearing enough, he barges into Jeonghan’s office, he sees Wendy on the phone looking out the window. Quickly, she bids the person goodbye, hanging up. Crossing her arms, she sizes the CEO. “Can I help you?” a bite in her voice.

“Where’s Jeonghan?”

“Not here,” She replies coldly. “I promised him I’d cover for him until he returns.”

Seungcheol jaw locks at the tone she uses with him. It was an accusing tone; as if the whole reason he’s gone at the moment is his fault. “Where did he go?”

“Why don’t you just ask him.” A new voice enters, Joshua briskly brushing past him, handing Wendy the bank statements. “Oh wait, you probably wouldn’t care.”

“What?” Seungcheol sounds exasperated, “Why the hell would you think I wouldn’t care about Jeonghan?”

“Just calling it like we see it,” he makes brief eye contact with Wendy.

“You know where he is?” Their boss looks between the two, growing more impatient with them.

“Yeah, I do.” He snaps, “And you’d know too if you gave a damn.” 

Following him out of the office he stops him, “Josh tell me where he is. Jae’s worried and refuses to leave her room. She’s not going to school, not responding to Nayoung. Just tell me where Jeonghan is.”

The accountant’s eyes graze over him from head to toe. “Is Jae really the only one worried?” 

Unbelievable. Why is he all of a sudden the bad guy? “Josh, come on, I thought we were friends.”

“We are. But when it comes to Jeonghan and someone else, he comes first. Because someone has to put him first. And I’m glad,” Joshua huffs, rolling up his sleeves, “I told him it was about time.” He shrugs lazily, opening his office door.

“About time for what?” Seungcheol demands, fed up with all the cryptic responses. Refusing to answer, Joshua closes the door on his face. Ready to barge into his office, he smacks the door when he tries to only to find that he actually locked it. “Hong come on. Tell me or Seokmin will.”

“Hilarious. ‘Min knows nothing, but good luck though.”

 

 

***

 

 

He didn’t get it. He didn’t understand. Jeonghan’s best friend has reverted to picking sides, Wendy’s only giving him five words at a time while Jae doesn’t even want to look at him. What exactly did he do to garner such reactions from them all? Jeonghan had shown no signs of leaving. It really did come at Seungcheol like a right hook.

“Every time I call him the line goes straight to voicemail,” Nayoung tosses her phone on the couch. Dropping herself on the couch, she sighs, leaning forward, resting her elbows on her knees, head slumping into her hands.

Seungcheol stares at the distressed mom as she pushes the hair out of her face. If he thinks he’s having a hard time grasping the situation, he doesn’t want to know how bad Nayoung’s handling it.

For starters, Jae didn’t even want to be in the same room as her or even look in her direction. With Seungcheol, she’d tolerate being in the room with her, she’d stare at him like he’d done a great injustice, but with her mom, Jae tried her best to not even acknowledge her existence.

Then there is the ever so evident problem of her blaming herself for his departure. Nayoung can’t help but feel guilty that she’s the one who ruined everything. 

“Don’t beat yourself up too much about this,” Seungcheol tries to sympathize as best as he could. In reality, he’s just as exhausted. His voice came out raspy and he didn’t sound all too convincing. 

“Jae hates me,” She sighs, running her fingers through her hair.

“My employees hate me,” He lets a bitter laugh slip. “Let’s call it the Jeonghan effect.”

“You mean when things blow up, and no matter the way you look at it, he’s never in the wrong?” She peeks between her hands, “Oh the Jeonghan effect is stronger than ever on this one.”

The Jeonghan effect: it could be a verb or a noun depending on context. Definition: When things go wrong and have a catastrophic effect on those around, but Jeonghan will forever be in the clear because he does no wrong. A good example of the Jeonghan effect would be an asteroid plummeting to earth. Everything around it catches on fire, leaving a massive crater where it lands. Yet, when everything is destroyed, people marvel at what’s left of the space rock. Because even though something was ruined, they discovered something amazing and beautiful in the process. That’s the Jeonghan effect. It left people in awe. People appreciate Jeonghan, and anyone who wrongs him in any way would face the wrath of those who love him; even if they love him too.

“Jae still not coming out of her room?”

Nayoung shook her head, “She won’t even make a noise when I try to talk to her.”

Deciding it’s his turn to try and speak to his daughter, he makes his way up the stairs. For a while, he stares at Jeonghan’s vacated room. The door is half open; getting ready to turn to Jae’s shut room, he sees a bit of movement on the sheets of Jeonghan’s bed. Creeping towards the room, he pushes the door open wider. There, Jae was lying down, asleep under the white sheets of Jeonghan’s bed. She looks so small compared to the size of the mattress. 

He sits on the edge of the best, brushing a couple of strands away from her face. Seungcheol sees the little head of an old stuffed bear he hasn’t seen her hold in a long while. Mister Pinkie out and about is something he can say he missed.

Jae jostles around a bit, eyes fluttering open. She looks up at her dad, eyes expecting good news. “Is Hani back yet?”

Something in his stomach drops. The first thing she asks him and the answer isn’t what she wants to hear. “No… Not yet.”

“Is he ever going to come back?”

“I hope so,” He tries to smile but it only pained him, “You know it isn’t your mom’s fault, right?”

“But it is,” She murmurs, hugging the bear tighter, trying to go deeper into the covers, “Hani asked if it’s okay for him to leave because I had you and mommy. Now I don’t want her to be here because if she isn’t here then that means Jeonghanie will be here.”

“Jae, that isn’t nice to your mom, you should be nice,” Seungcheol scolds her.

“If I do, she could leave again. Or maybe you’ll leave. Hani’s the only one who stayed,” her eyes begin to dampen, “If you leave and mommy leaves again, nobody’s going to be with me. Hani always stays with me.”

And just like that, Seungcheol understands just how broken Jae is. This entire time, he assumed that Jae’s just his daughter who adapts so well and fast to her surroundings. That she’s been secure the entire time. However, in actuality, she’s as damaged as the next; going through too much loss before she could even live for a decade. 

“Didn’t I promise you that I’m not going anywhere? If I left that would make me a liar,” He says softly.

“And I don’t like liars…”

“Exactly. I want to stay on your good side, right?”

Nodding, she turns, facing the wall, “If he comes back, you’re not going to let him leave again? Because you said you love him. You don’t let people you love leave.”

His breath hitches at the declaration. His daughter is too perceptive for her own good. So, to appease her, he agrees. Because he’s going to make sure he doesn’t leave again; he loves Jeonghan and he won’t let him slip away again.

 

 

***

 

 

It’s been three weeks since they’ve last seen Jeonghan. Jae didn’t speak much. Nayoung had to leave for a photo shoot in New York the week prior, not before informing Seungcheol that she’s getting an apartment in the city. She had no intentions to overstay her welcome and it didn’t help that her own daughter wouldn’t even give her the time of day.

The father-daughter duo sat in the living room together, watching the Descendants movie together. It’s at the part when the platinum-haired character was asking out the girl for a third time, trying to finally get her to understand where he was going with it. If only it were that simple.

Everyone at work had inadvertently taken sides and coming up with ideas and reasons as to why Jeonghan went AWOL. Some are blaming Seungcheol, saying that he kicked him out. Others were getting creative by saying Jeonghan was offered a better job by a hotter CEO so he dropped Seungcheol like a hot potato. His favorite one he’s heard was that Jeonghan’s just playing a really good game of hide-and-seek with Jae and Seungcheol just sucks at finding him. Jihoon’s the one who told him that one.

Truth be told, he’s looked everywhere. He called the New York branch to see if there was any sign of him there. He paid an early visit to Miss Eugene to see if he was there too – they usually visit her at least once or twice a month to have lunch – but it seems as though she knew nothing about his disappearance either. Thinking he could ask Mingyu and Wonwoo, Seungcheol was terribly mistaken when both had informed him that they were under strict oath to Joshua and Wendy that they wouldn’t speak to “the one named Seungcheol about the one named Jeonghan” because he deserves to suffer.

“Just ask him where he is, I’m desperate!” He practically begged Seokmin to get answers out of his boyfriend. 

“I’ve tried man, every single time I try mentioning you, he starts singing Maroon 5 and won’t stop until he’s sure I won’t ask anymore,” His best friend said apologetically. “I’m easier to crack than he is. Sorry man.”

So, Seungcheol admitted defeat; wanting to scream “Olly Olly Oxen Free” for him to come out of hiding. That didn’t seem possible. Since he didn’t. Know. Where. The. Fuck. He. Is. 

“Daddy, can I be Evie for Halloween?” Jae mumbles, eyes never leaving the television screen, head resting on his arm.

“Sure, but Halloween isn’t for another six months, what if you don’t want to be Evie in September?”

“Well you never know, you have to be ready for when that happens.” She says.

It’s nearing midnight and Jae still hasn’t gone to bed and Seungcheol didn’t have the heart to make her go to sleep when they had just gotten back to okay terms.

That’s when light seeps past the window momentarily. Jae doesn’t notice it, but Seungcheol sure as hell does. Sitting up he stares through the space between the blinds; every single nerve in his body ceases to function when he hears a car door close. By the time he has proper thought in his head, his daughter sits up as well, catching on to her dad’s weird behavior when the sound of their gate creaks loudly.

Counting down the seconds, both heads turn to the front door. Anticipation flowing through them as keys jingle on the other side, as they gape at the lock that switches from one side to the other and the knob that turns with it. Seungcheol’s blood runs cold when the all too familiar blond steps inside, removing the hat from his head.

“Hani!” Jae screeches as she jumps over the couch, tackling the man as soon as he hung up his keys. 

“Hi! How are you- Jae why are you crying?” Jeonghan lifts her chin to wipe her tears, extremely perplexed at the reaction he’s getting. 

“You left us!”

“I haven’t left yet?” The blond looks up to meet Seungcheol’s solemn face. What is going on in this house? “I just had to visit someone,” he rubs the little girls back, “It was an emergency-”

“You… You didn’t answer your phone,” Seungcheol musters out.

“I… I was in Korea. I didn’t get any texts or calls till I landed this evening,” Jeonghan pulls out two phones, “I turned my phone off. I’ve been using the Korean phone… Didn’t Joshua give you the number-”

“Never leave again!”

“But I haven’t left yet Jae?”

“Left yet? So, you’re leaving?” Seungcheol’s eyes gloss over. “You’re really going to leave?”

Jeonghan bit his lip, unsure if he should answer with Seungcheol's daughter listening to their conversation. So, they wait.

Upon request, Jeonghan’s the one who tucks her in tonight. “You’re not going to leave again are you?”

He looks down at her, bringing the blanket higher, unsure what to say, “I’ll see you in the morning okay?”

“Daddy loves you, you know?”

For the first time in three weeks, he feels that god awful feelings in his chest once more. “I know. He loves both of us a lot.” He stands to turn off her lamp but she grabs his hand before he could get any further.

“No, not that kind of love, Jeonghanie,” She tugs on his fingers a bit harder, “Daddy’s in love with you.”

Where on earth was this coming from? The blond feels his heartbeat quicken. “Seungcheol isn’t in love with me Jae. He can’t be in love with me.” He tries really hard keep the pricking feeling in his eyes at bay, while he tries to prevent the tightness in his throat from getting the best of him. _‘He’s not like that… He’s not like me.’_

“But he told me he loved you from Neptune and back.” As much as Jeonghan wanted to believe what she’s saying, he just couldn’t. She’s seven and only knows so much. “You’re in love with him too, right?”

He’s going to be gone in a week’s time anyway. Might at as well indulge in her question, “Yeah. For a long time now. But it’s been a secret.” He breathes out.

“How long is a long time?”

Jeonghan thought for a moment, looking up at the glow in the dark stars him and Seungcheol stuck on the ceiling when they first moved in. A request from the princess of the house. She wanted to be able to see the stars at night. So, the two spent hours decorating her ceiling with the stars, having different sizes spread out and somehow have a couple on their faces by the end of the project.

He stares at the glowing green stars, not enjoying how they became blurry, “I don’t know… Maybe…” He laughs a bit, “Maybe for three orbits the earth made around the sun.”

There is a silence after he said that. Thinking she finally fell asleep, he blinks, eyes growing tired of holding back his tears. “Why are you keeping it a secret?” Jeonghan’s eyes widen in shock, quickly pushing the tears out of his face.

“Because…” He thinks back to the past four years. The countless number of dates Seungcheol’s been on. The quick texts that told him he’s going to be out a bit longer than usual. He remembers the all those times they went out and he’d flirt with staff members and woman who’d adore Jae. And he remembers how natural it looked when he was with Nayoung, and how perfect the family looked. “Because I’m not the one for him.”

Finally looking down at her, Jae’s eyes are closed, breathing steadily. Seven years he’s been with her as her guardian. It’s going to hurt when he finally leaves her side, but Seungcheol didn’t need training wheels anymore. He’s ready to do this on his own, and even more so with Nayoung in the picture. Jeonghan’s job is done.

Shutting her door, Jeonghan walks back downstairs to find Seungcheol leaning against the back of the couch. Waiting for him to speak. “What?”

“Where the hell were you?” His voice echoes off the walls, “Do you know how worried I was? How worried we all were?”

“I was in Seoul! I thought you knew! You signed off on it and I told both Wendy and Josh to tell you.”

“You couldn’t have just told me yourself?”

“You were busy half the time!” Jeonghan defends himself, not sure of where this misplaced anger is coming from, “I didn’t think it was going to be a big deal; I’m the least of your worries.”

“Why were you in Seoul?”

“Wanna know why?” Jeonghan huffs, “Because my dad got sick; and it turns out, a year after they kicked me out; they moved back home with my sister. Literally abandoning me.” He leans on the back of the couch, crossing one foot over the other. “They’ve been keeping tabs on me through my sister. They knew about my living situation, raising Jae, moving in with you, graduating, getting the job, the whole nine-yards because they couldn’t speak to me; wait, they wouldn’t speak to me. Until I got a call last month. It was my mom surprisingly, asking me to come visit them in Seoul to see my dad because he got sick. It was sudden, spur of the moment because at first, I said no but then I decided I should so I went to Korea. It was awkward, but then it wasn’t. It was time for my family. My real family; who’s finally okay with me being me. So I am so sorry that I didn’t explicitly tell you. It’s my life and I didn’t think I had to run things by you first even though, officially, I did when you signed the paper allowing me to take a leave from work.” 

“Joshua and Wendy have been ignoring me for almost a month! They wouldn’t tell me anything about you. Is that so bad? Wanting to know where you were? Not even a note?” Seungcheol’s frustration growing, “I get it, you went to see your family but couldn’t you have at least given us a heads up for when you were going to come back?”

“Why on earth should I tell you about everything I do? It doesn’t matter when I return, it’s my life.”

“How can you say that Jae’s been worried sick, unsure if you’d ever come back.”

“You don’t expect me to stay do you?” His voice is raw and a bit baffled, “She has both her parents at hand. There’s really no need for me to be here.”

“Jeonghan you raised her. ‘Young was there for three and I’ve been here for four. You’ve been here the whole time!” Seungcheol just wasn’t understanding where this is coming from. If anything, he’s surprised how unconcerned he sounded at the moment.

“Because nobody else was!” Jeonghan stresses, “She doesn’t need me anymore. I’m not related to her in any way. She has you and you’re an incredible father. She has her mom again and she’s here to stay. There’s no need for me especially if you three are trying to be a family.”

“But she wants you in her life, I want you in her life,” he grabs his hands. _‘I want you in my life.’_

“I have no place here, Cheol,” Jeonghan says, tiredness in his eyes, “Not when she has you two. Not when you two are trying to be a family. it’s just-”

“Jae needs you here. She screamed and cried and blamed everyone when you left, I thought she hated me. I didn’t know what to do then. Nayoung didn’t know what to do. She resented her mom’s existence because she thought Nayoung was the reason you left,” he takes a hold of Jeonghan’s other hand, “and I’m going to be selfish once again. I know you told me that I’m not allowed to act that way because I have a kid but let me be selfish this one time,” Seungcheol practically pleads, “I need you. Here. With me. Yes, she wants to be a family with us living together here, but that’s not what I see. It’s me and you living in this house, with Jae. We’re happy. We’re her family. Nayoung gets that.”

“Cheol... You don’t need me anymore-”

“You fought for her, you raised her and took care of her by yourself for half a year while working two jobs and going for your masters! You did everything you can to keep her! Why are you letting go so easily?”

“I’m not letting go, I’m moving on!” Jeonghan snipes back, insulted by the tone of the other’s voice, “This isn’t what she deserves. I can’t over complicate Jae’s life. I’ve always been the temporary solution. I offered Nayoung my help all those years ago; only to help. My role has forever been temporary. My job is done. She has a mom and a dad. What am I? I’m not an uncle, I’m not her brother or a friend. I’m not a babysitter and I am most definitely not-”

“Not what? Her dad? Is that what you’re going to say? You’re not her dad?” Seungcheol cuts him off with a scoff as if what the blond had said was humorous. 

He marches towards his daughter’s backpack, pulling out her pink binder. Jeonghan’s familiar with it since when she needs the weekly parent signature, he’d sign it when Seungcheol has to leave for work early. The CEO flips it open and shuffled through the papers in the pocket only to pull out an assignment. He began reading the instructions, “Please draw a depiction of your family to the best of your ability. Then write a sentence or two about each family member including their role in the family (mom, dad, brother, sister, etc.)” 

He flips the paper over and hands to Jeonghan. There he sees three people in the middle of the paper. He knew immediately the one with yellow hair is supposed to be him. 

 

_This is my dad and his name is Seungcheol who is a boss at a tall building. He is like Batman in charge of me and everyone but is super nice!_

_This is Jeonghan and he is my other dad. He works in the same building as daddy. He is Superman! The best_ in _the worlds!_

 

Jeonghan’s eyes slide up to the corner of the paper to see red words at the top, knowing that it meant it was graded and seen. She calls him her dad? His heart clenches, only now realizing how much he’ll miss her. Ready to question the assignment he finds Seungcheol standing by the answering machine, eyes full of determination, he turns it on. 

 

**_You have one saved message_ **

_“Hello? This is Miss Steins, Jaehyun Choi’s first-grade teacher. I’m just making a courtesy call. I’m a little worried about Jae this week. She was absent for four days and when she returned she was very out of it. Usually, she’s full of life and participates often. She and her classmates would always get into mini-debates on who had the better parents and she’d usually boast about how amazing her dads are. But she’s been extremely quiet and unresponsive. Not to pry but I thought I’d let you know, unsure if she’s been like this at home. I look forward to seeing her next Monday.”_

“You are her dad Hani, you are,” he goes to him, “She’s seen you as a dad for who knows how long.”

“I’m not her dad…” He spoke as if it pains him to say it, “We’re not anything, and I can’t be here and pretend that I don’t want something more.”

“Something more?”

Jeonghan presses a hand to his forehead, trying to soothe a headache away, “I’m not talking about this. I’m tired, it was a long flight. I can’t do this right now.” He turns away, heading towards the stairs.

“What do you mean something more?” Seungcheol follows him as he drags himself towards his room. “I’m not dropping this until you tell me what you mean by that.”

“What do you think it means Cheol?” Jeonghan hisses softly, not wanting to wake Jae up, “Why do you think I stayed all this time? I said I wasn’t going to leave until you became an amazing dad. But yet here I am! Still here when I should have left two years ago.”

He’s tired. He’s tired of having to hide his emotion; of having to cover up everything inside him. Putting his whole heart on the line, all Seungcheol needs to do is pick up on it. 

“But you’re not supposed to leave, you’re supposed to stay here with me.”

Jeonghan spins around giving him an odd look, “With you? Stay with you?” 

Seungcheol blinks. “Us. Her I mean. Here with Jae.”

Another wrong answer. “Of course.”

Eyebrows furrowing together, his eyes widen. What did he say wrong? “What do you want me to say? Tell me and I’ll say it. I’ve already told you that Jae needs you, that I need you, that if you leave it wouldn’t be the same, what more can I say to make you stay?”

“ _I don’t know!_ ” He yells, “I don’t know what more I’m expecting! I don’t know what else I should have expected from you! All I know is that I’m not going to hear it from you _ever_! And I’m not going to stay and delude myself that I’m happy with this God-forsaken position I’m in.”

“So you’re not happy here?”

“Don’t twist this on me.” Jeonghan points at him. He’s spent too long thinking about every possibility with him leaving on good terms. His departure is bound to happen and the mere fact that Seungcheol is suggesting that he’s somewhat at fault isn’t going to make it any easier.

“I’m not! I just want to understand so I know how to make you stay!”

The two find themselves in an aggressive argument; neither expecting it to end up the way it is. It’s unavoidable when two people care about each other so much that one feels the need to branch off while the other refuses to let go.

“I’m not going to force you to change so I can stay. And you can’t force me to stay when I’m finally ready to leave!” He yells, his face shows just how worn-out he feels. Taking a deep breath, he stares at Seungcheol before walking right past him. “You know what… Tell Jae that I’m sorry I won’t be here for breakfast, I’ll make it up to her some other time.” Jeonghan picks his phone up from the side table and walks down the stairs again, taking his keys off the hook.

“Jeonghan!” Seungcheol treads behind him, “Where the hell are you going?”

“I am not staying here and I’m not going to argue about this any longer,” He reaches for the door but Seungcheol beats him to it, slamming it closed. Jeonghan’s eyes burn when he faces him again. His right hand still on the doorknob, he follows Seungcheol’s arm that was placed in the middle of the door, back to his face, “You may be my boss, but we’re on a fair playing field right now. You can’t make me do anything.”

Pushing the door harder when he feels the blond try to reopen it, he takes a step closer, both of them inches apart, “Just help me understand. Is it me? Am I doing something wrong? Do you need a break? I just want to know.”

“Why do you want me to stay so bad?” Exhaustion taking over him, Jeonghan leans his shoulder against the door, staring back at Seungcheol. “Give me a good reason why. Give me _one_ good reason, and I’ll stay.”

He stares at Jeonghan for a long time, he doesn’t know what more he can say. Seungcheol searches his face for some kind of answer, a sign that will lead him in the right direction because he feels so lost. He’s said everything he could possibly think of if those things didn’t make him stay then what would? Yet his eyes have so much hope and disappointment in them.

Jeonghan breaks eye contact, closing his eyes for a long time, taking a really deep breath before reopening them. That’s when sees it. The expression on the younger’s face is soft, but the emotion pierces his heart like a blade going right through him. 

Love.

“You can’t,” Jeonghan whispers, “And that’s okay.” A worn-down smile makes its way to his face as if he’s finally giving up on a dream. And Seungcheol feels the knife being pulled out of him, his heart bleeding out. 

His reaction and timing are all delayed from the revelation, he’s still in this type of trance when Jeonghan pulls the door open and walks out. But it’s back when the door almost closes. Running down the walkway, he gets to the driveway where he sees Jeonghan already in his car. “Jeonghan wait!”

The calls go unheard when the other begins backing out of the property, into the street. He watches as the white car disappears into the darkness, probably in the direction of Seokmin and Joshua’s place. Seungcheol runs his fingers through his hair, angry at himself for not saying anything sooner, not understanding sooner. “I love you.” He breathes out into the air. Frustration takes over and he kicks the garbage can, wishing it was himself. 

Walking back, he sees his daughter standing at the entrance. He feels his stomach knot up at the sight his little girl’s solemn face. “Honey, why are you awake?”

“I heard you and Jeonghanie yelling at each other upstairs,” Jae’s voice is soft as if she’s scared to speak, “And I saw him leave.”

“Jae, I’m so sorry you heard that-”

“He left again. Because of you,” her tears began to fall. Guilt starts eating him alive. “You made him leave!”

“Honey no-”

“You lied to me!” She sobs, running back inside to her room.

Closing the front door, he climbs the stairs once more, going straight to his daughter’s room, knocking on the locked door. “Jae, come on, I didn’t lie to you. Open the door.”

“Yes, you did!” Her voice muffled, “You don’t love him! He didn’t stay!”

Seungcheol stretches, feeling for the key he left on top of her door frame. Finding it, he unlocks her door and sees her crying on her bed. “I didn’t lie, Jae, I didn’t.”

“You don’t love him and now he doesn’t love you anymore.”

“Where did you get that from?”

“Jeonghanie told me it’s a secret. He didn’t tell you because he says he’s not the one for you. Because you don’t love him.”

To say Seungcheol’s shocked is an understatement. He’s incredibly floored. Jeonghan had confided into his daughter. And Jeonghan loves him. 

 

 

***

 

 

The next morning, his daughter gives him the silent treatment (one she ironically learned from Jeonghan one day when he gave it to him after he came home from grocery shopping and didn’t buy strawberries). Packing her a turkey sandwich and some cookies, he tries to get her to talk to him but sadly, he receives no reply.

“Are you really going to ignore me?” Once again, he receives nothing. He watches as she chews on her pancake, playing with her uniform skirt. “Do you still love me?” Jae stares at him with her big eyes, nodding after a couple of seconds. “But you’re mad at me?” she nodded her head a little too quickly for his pleasure. He asks what he could do to get her to talk again. She doesn’t have to say any words for him to understand exactly what she wanted. Her eyes traveled to the empty seat at the end of the counter. Jeonghan’s seat. Almost giving in automatically, he runs a hand down his face, “Want me to bring you to the office so you can see him?”

When her face lit up he couldn’t help but feel so useless. It felt as if they were a divorced couple having trouble with the schedule of who gets to see their kid when.

Seungcheol walks into his office, defeated. He couldn’t understand Jeonghan’s mentality at all. Every single time Jeonghan disappears from their house, Jae is accusing him of not loving him and ignores him. How could he possibly think that Seungcheol was near ready for taking care of Jae alone when his daughter won’t even speak to him when the blond wasn’t within arms reach.

He throws himself to work, not stopping until there’s a knock on his door. Hoping it’s Jeonghan, he perks up only to be left disappointed when it’s Jihoon who walks in. “Can I help you?”

“Yeah these are stocks for the merger, this is our budget for the next two months, here are PR and HR’s statements, and lastly,” Jihoon pulls a folded paper from his inner blazer pocket, “I decided to throw in my own statement.”

The CEO just knew in his gut that this had to do with his personal life. His assumptions were correct when printed in large bold letters that took up the entire paper is ‘FIX THE MESS YOU MADE DIPSHIT!’

Holding out the message, he gives him an unimpressed look, “Did you waste company ink on this?”

“Seungcheol-”

“Save it, I already got the lecture from my own daughter.”

“Jae? Lectured you about Jeonghan?” Jihoon scoffs, but his face morphs into one of amusement when his boss just nods. “Well, would you look at that.”

“She went on about how Jeonghan’s in love with me and how he kept it a secret,” he’s frustrated, “I never knew he had feelings too until last night. Why didn’t he tell me? Why’d I have to go through all that to figure it out?”

“Here, let me explain,” Jihoon pulls a pencil from a holder and holds it in front of his face, “this is you. Do you see how awfully straight you look?”

“But I’m not?”

“Cheol, you got a girl knocked up, the dates that he’s seen you with are women. He thinks you’re straight, man. He doesn’t know about all the guys you’ve dated before. In his eyes, there’s absolutely no way you’re interested.”

“How do you know?”

“Who’s our best friend?”

“Seokmin.”

“And who’s Seokmin dating?”

“Joshua.”

“And who’s Joshua’s best friend?”

“Jeonghan- ohhh…”

 Seungcheol might be the CEO, but that doesn't mean he's perceptive in the outside world.

 

*

 

“Jeonghan.”

Refusing to slow down, he brushes Seungcheol off, “I have a meeting with your clients right now so I don’t have time to talk.”

“Jeonghan come on.”

“I have to go.”

“Jae’s coming by,” He blurts out, “She wants to see you.”

Finally, Jeonghan stops walking. Turning, he gives him a tight smile before nodding. Automatically going back to what he was doing before.

 

*

 

He walks into the break room, in need of something to snack on when he spots Joshua and Wendy sitting together; both smile and greet him like normal. 

Raising an eyebrow, Seungcheol looks behind him to see if they were waving to someone else. When he sees nobody, he points to himself, “So you guys are talking to me now?”

“Yup,” The accountant nods sipping his coffee, “Jeonghan’s back and considering how he showed up on my doorstep last night, I could only assume he’s finally blown up on you.”

“We don’t have to be angry at you anymore since all of Jeonghan’s pent-up feelings finally came out,” Wendy nods, “Take it as us vicariously showing you how he truly feels.”

“So you both knew he was planning on leaving?”

Wendy shakes her head, jabbing her thumb at Joshua. Apparently, only he knew about the blond’s decision to leave. “I merely suggested it, and he told me he’d been planning on leaving. You’re torturing him, man.”

“I’m torturing him?” He frowns, “is that how he feels? Do I really look that straight?”

“I mean, I was fully convinced you swing both ways; although you did have your moments where you made really think,” Joshua thought, “I hope you’ve realized your mistakes.” When their boss gives in with a defeated sigh. The corner of his lips turns up ever so slightly as he leans over the table. “Now. What are you going to do to make him stay?”

Joshua knows everything. It’d be a damn shame to watch two people who love each other separate. They just needed a little push in the right direction. However, when push comes to shove, it came in the form of Joshua drop kicking them to where they’re supposed to be.

 

*

 

Getting Jeonghan’s attention is much harder than expected after his meeting. If anything, the man is practically running away from him.

Seungcheol calls after him just as he catches him leaving the conference room. Completely ignoring him, as he continues to walk to his office. The only stop to his tread is when Jae comes running towards them with Irene scurrying behind.

“Hani!” She jumps straight into his arms. Even though Jeonghan was benumbed moments ago, he’s very responsive with Jae.  

“Hi baby,” he hugs her tight, picking her up off the ground, “Go say hi to your dad.”

When she doesn’t make any effort to move, Jeonghan gives a perplexed look to the father-daughter duo. Then he’s informed that Jae’s currently angry at her dad, to which Jeonghan’s attitude shifts from soft and cuddly to serious and authoritative. “Why are you mad at your dad?” He puts her down, giving Jae a stern look. 

“Because he made you leave again last night,” she mumbles, unable to look at Jeonghan directly. 

The blond stands, grabbing the little girl’s hand, leading her to his office. But his head snaps back to look at Seungcheol, “You’re getting the talk too. Follow.”

Obediently, Seungcheol did as he was told. It feels a bit like the walk of shame since like Father like daughter, both their heads sulked and refused to look at Jeonghan. Many office workers watched as they made their way to Jeonghan’s office. Everyone knows the situation Jeonghan and Seungcheol are in (the raising a child and living together situation), so it’s no surprise to see this kind of thing in the office.

Closing the door shut, he orders Jae to sit on his couch while Seungcheol stands behind him. Kneeling down next to the couch, he gives her a look of disapproval, “Seungcheol, your dad, didn’t make me leave last night. I left because I needed to leave.”

“But I heard you fighting last night.”

“Jae, that’s because your daddy was asking me to stay,” Jeonghan admits to her, “I’m not going to stay with you any longer; that’s why we were fighting. I don’t have to be around anymore but your dad was trying to get me to stay.”

“But you love me. And you told me you’re in love with daddy. Why would you leave if you love us?”

Jeonghan tries not show how affected he is by her words and how she’s repeating what he had told her last night in front of Seungcheol. 

“I told you already last night. Plus, you don’t need me anymore. You’re going to have your mommy and your daddy around. Jae, you don’t need me.”

“Yes, I do. It’s me you and daddy. Daddy loves you too. You have to stay.” The little girl continues to be persistent.

“Yes, of course he does.”

“You know?” Seungcheol asks, caught off guard by the confession.

“Of course, I know,” Jeonghan rolls his eyes, turning to his boss he raises his eyebrows a bit, the way he always does when he wants Seungcheol to play along. Of course, to play along.

“Then why aren’t you staying?”

His eyes widened when Seungcheol didn’t hop on board with him. “Because I can’t. I talked about this. To both of you,” he turns to the little girl, “Jae, sweetie, I’m not your dad. It’s not right for me to take time away from your actual dad and from your mom.” He tries his best to emphasize on his actual dad, still thinking about the revelation of how Jae sees him.

“I want you to be my dad.”

“That’s not nice sweetie, Seungcheol’s a great dad-”

“No,” She stomps her feet, standing up, “I want you to be a dad with him. I want both of you as my dads.”

“Jae, that’s not possible. I’d have to marry your mom or your dad. I really can’t marry your mom.”

“Marry daddy,” Jae points to Seungcheol, his eyes growing wide at the demand.

Jeonghan laughs sadly, shaking his head, “I can’t do that either.”

The conversation comes to an end when Wendy knocks on the door, not meaning to interrupt, asking for the copies of the contracts Jeonghan had looked over. Striding towards his desk, Jeonghan pulls out the file out, “Jae, I have to finish some stuff up okay? I’ll be back.” He gave her a quick forehead kiss before heading out of his office. Jae did not look pleased with her dad.

“Do you like like him at least?” 

Disappointed that the first words he daughter spoke to him after twelve hours was that, he is at least kind of thrilled she’s speaking to him.

“Go tell him!” Her little voice commands, pointing towards the door.

He didn’t really know why his life had come to this. From a world-class bachelor and CEO of a multimillion dollar company to a whipped dad who follows orders from his own daughter and is in love with the random grad student who knocked on his door.

Leaving the room, he heads straight over to the copy room, greeted with an unhappy public relations director.

“You were supposed to just play along back there!” 

“But I don’t think you actually get what Jae was saying back there.” Unamused, Jeonghan turns his attention away from the copy machine, there’s an unimpressed look on his face waiting for Seungcheol to continue. “I like like you.”

“Pardon?”

“I mean…” Seungcheol squeezes his eyes shut, mentally slapping himself, “Jeonghan, I’m in love with you.”

Genuine shock is written all over his face as if what he said was absolutely impossible. A shallow laugh escapes his lips until he’s full-on giggling. “That’s funny, that’s a good one,” He wags his finger at him, clutching his stomach and scrunching his nose, “Whoo. You almost got me there.”

“Huh?”

“There’s no way,” Jeonghan wipes a tear away from his eye, flicking it towards Seungcheol, composing himself. “That’s funny though. Who put you up to that? Was it Josh? Or was it Soonyoung? What a sick bastard.” He sighs, shaking his head, still smiling though.

“Han, I’m not-” he sucked his teeth, annoyed how the blond isn’t taking him seriously. Of all times? Walking towards him, he takes the papers out of his hands and stops the copy machine, “I’m being serious.”

“And so am I,” he gave him a pitiful smile, “You’re not. You’re someone who charms girls instantly, without even trying. You’ve gone on countless numbers of dates and who knows what else with them. If you think I’m a girl, I have some fucking news for you.”

“I’m not straight,” He sounds insane for speaking fast, but desperate times calls for desperate measures. “I’ve dated men, I’ve dated women. I just never go on second dates with the guys because…” _‘They’re not you’_ “Because.”

“And that’s supposed to reassure me how?”

“Jae’s fourth birthday,” Seungcheol sees the way Jeonghan locks up, he knows exactly the memory, “You kissed me that night. We were both drunk. The next morning, I heard you talking to Josh about it, you were freaking out about it and you were scared that I was going to hate you; so, I pretended that I blacked out. If anything, it made me appreciate you even more.” He watches as his publicist slowly presses the print button again. But he’s not leaving until Jeonghan truly gets it, so he presses the power button once more and moves so he’s right in front of him. “And then, when Jihoon set you up with Johnny, I realized that my feelings for you were just a bit stronger than what I thought it was,” He exhales, “And last year, call me stupid, call slow, call me whatever you want. But it was one morning when you woke up before I did. I saw you and Jae running around the house, you were chasing after her because she was wearing your ring and the watch I gave you. You caught her, spun her around laughing. Both of you saw me and said good morning and I just thought wow, I’m so lucky. I don’t want anything to change. Then I made breakfast, and she fed you some eggs, you gave me a bite of bacon and I fell in love with you. And I hated myself for taking so long in realizing it because you were already taken.”

Seungcheol watches the Jeonghan locks and unlocks his jaw. The way he stares off into the distance. How can he look breathlessly beautiful even when he’s utterly perplexed? 

“I… am a twenty-six-year-old, Public Relations personnel for one of the biggest corporations on the West Coast… But I’m also raising a kid with my boss. Who I’ve been in love with since I was twenty-three. These things aren’t supposed to happen.” His voice is soft when the words tumble out.

The older can feel his blood pumping through his body at Jeonghan’s unintentional confession. He wants to hear it again. He wants to hear Jeonghan repeat it with confidence instead of the timid voice he had just used. “Jeonghan…”

“How does my best friend get pregnant to a rich dude, have the child, abandon the child, leave me to find the baby daddy, but when I find the baby daddy he’s completely incompetent and unable to take care a child. So, I have to help him raise the kid.” His voice rising with every piece of the story, “But _then_ because I guess I’m too _gay_ to function, I fall in love with the rich guy whom I’m fully convinced is straight. And then, my best friend comes back, expects me to just hand her kid back over along with the rich baby daddy whom I’m in love with and is also my boss now, over to her. And then I have to fly to Korea, visit my sick dad who apparently finally accepts me for who I am, fly back to find that apparently my best friend doesn’t want to be that perfect family anymore when I’ve already decided to move along, and then to just _top it all off_ , the baby daddy boss which I’m in love with tells me he loves me?” The blond almost screams. Eyes wild, an array of emotions spilling out of him that Seungcheol can’t pinpoint what exactly the younger is feeling. “In what world does that happen?!”

“This one.”

“Not possible,” Jeonghan rasps out, preparing to leave the room.

Seungcheol wracks his brain trying to come up with something, anything, to make Jeonghan finally believe him. The one thing he remembers hits him like a ton of bricks. “Lesson two. She’s the sun.” Jeonghan blinks, not sure where he’s going with this, “And we’re just the planets that revolve around her in this solar system. Joshua’s like Venus, Mingyu’s Jupiter and Wonwoo’s Neptune. You’re the earth because you revolve around her three hundred sixty-five days of the year. You said that,” Jeonghan slowly nods. It was way back, from their first week of living together. It’s been a long ways journey since then. “You said I was Pluto. Unsure if I was going to become a planet or a part of your daily life, right? Remember that?”

He does. He recalls the uncertainty he had with Seungcheol back then. There was such a big risk allowing Seungcheol into Jae’s life, yet somehow it worked out.

“Well, this is me, telling you that I’m not Pluto anymore. My entire life revolves around you and Jae now. I’m… I’m the fucking moon,” Seungcheol laughs almost hysterically. Because it’s ridiculous. He’s comparing their damn lives to a solar system, but he’s desperate. He’s going for broke here. “I revolve around you day and night and my life revolves around her non-stop as well. Jeonghan,” He turns him around, holding onto his hands like his life depends on it, “I love you.”

“Seungcheol-”

“Damn it, Jeonghan!” almost slams his fist on the wall, “Be selfish! Put yourself first! I want you! Now you tell me what you want so I can be the one who gives it to you. Let me be the one to give you the universe. Let me love you to Pluto and back. Only if you still love me too.”

“I did put myself first! I finally thought to myself that I’m going to be free from _you_ ,” he pushes Seungcheol’s chest with his index finger, “I was prepared to leave because you were becoming the main reason I was staying! I had finally accepted the fact that nothing was going to happen between us. That we would never end up together. That I was wasting my time being in love with you because you weren’t in lo-”

Pulling on Jeonghan’s dress shirt, their lips finally connect after three years of being apart. Both would be lying if they said they didn’t think about the kiss, how it had such a lasting impression on them. Just one kiss drove Jeonghan mad while the one kiss hooked Seungcheol, waiting for his chance to feel the other’s lips on his once more. This time around, they’re both sober enough to enjoy and feel it.

Like how Jeonghan feels the back of his neck and ears heat up. How he tugs on Seungcheol’s blazer instinctually to bring them closer than possible. How he can feel his heart slowly piecing back together.

Seungcheol heard his heartbeat pounding against his rib cage, its way of screaming “Finally!” after being locked away for nearly two years. How Jeonghan’s lips ironically still taste like strawberries as he continues to move his lips against his. 

It’s much sweeter than their first kiss. It’s softer, yet urgent. Chaste but with so much emotion in it.

Reluctantly, Seungcheol detaches himself from Jeonghan, eyes fluttering open. Not liking the empty feeling, he brushes his lips against Jeonghan’s still parted ones. 

Waiting for the other’s eyes to open, he whispers, “don’t finish that sentence. I don’t even want you to think that I don’t love you. That’s not even a possibility. The fact that you even considered it just shows how stupid I’ve been.” 

“Why do you do this?” Jeonghan mutters, no malice in his tone; it’s a genuine question. “Every time I think I can finally get away from you, you find a way to lure me back?”

“Because I want you to stay with me. I need you. I want you to. I love you. And I just wish I said it sooner,” Seungcheol caresses his cheek with the back of his fingers.

Jeonghan intertwines his fingers with Seungcheol’s, pulling it away. A solemn smile appears, “And I love you. But I just need to learn how to live without you. Without having to constantly worry about someone else. You got to experience that. Nayoung. Joshua. Wonwoo. Everyone got to go through it; life without a care in the world. I don’t know that yet.”

“What? What are you trying to say?”

“I’m trying to say that I love you. But I need space, and I want us to be in love with each other because we truly want to be with one another not just because it’s convenient and because it makes sense. I don’t want this to be a false love. My life has revolved around you for four years and around Jae for seven. And before that, it revolved around my parents. Let me focus on myself.”

There’s a soul-crushing silence between them. Seungcheol can feel the uneven breaths he’s taking. Jeonghan’s standing right in front of him, he can see him, but it’s like he’s slipping away. “Okay… Okay… you’re going to leave but that doesn’t mean we aren’t going to see each other. I’ll see you at work and… and-”

Jeonghan shakes his head, his lips pressed together harshly. He opens his mouth to say something, yet not a sound comes out. It takes all of his will-power to say the next words, “I’ve filled out my letter of resignation, and submitting it by the end of the day.” The words tumble out of him fast as he steps away, avoiding eye contact, “I have a job offer back in Seoul. I’ll be working as a professor at the National University there.”

“You- you can’t go.”

“I already took the job.”

Like how the wind blows the sand, it takes Seungcheol’s crumbling heart away with him.

Reaching back out, Seungcheol drags Jeonghan closer, cupping his face as he presses their foreheads together. “It’s my fault, isn’t it?” He says breathlessly, “I took too long. I was stupid. I’m really the reason you're leaving?”

Jeonghan tries to deny it, rushing out a string of No’s, but it’s no use since deep down, they both know that in a way, it is. “Don’t blame yourself. I need this. For the both of us,” He curls his fingers into the back of Seungcheol’s hair. “I’ll come back eventually.”

Seungcheol takes a deep breath, a single tear drops from his eye onto the ground. “Until then I guess.” He takes a hold of one hand, twisting their pinkies together. A gesture that triggers tears from the blond.

Gasping from the weight of the promise he nods as tears continue to drip from both their faces. “Until then.”

 

 

***

 

 

“I… I’m going to miss you,” Jae sobs through choked gasps. 

It’s not even daybreak when they find themselves in front of one of the LAX terminal, bidding their goodbyes to Jeonghan. Although they threw a farewell dinner for him last night, Nayoung and Joshua decided they wanted to see him off – also, to be a helping hand to Seungcheol and Jae.

Crouching down, Jeonghan wipes her tears for one last time, feeling the corner of his eyes dampen as well, “What did I promise you, baby? I told you that I’m going to come back, right? I’m not leaving you, I’m just going on a long trip. You can video call me any time you miss me okay? I can never leave you.” He kisses the crown of her head before she wraps her arms around his neck. Jeonghan tilts his head up a bit, meeting both Joshua’s and Nayoung’s gaze. No words needed to be exchanged, his eyes said everything: take care of her. 

The two nod. Nayoung has to look away to stop the tears that were threatening to come out. Joshua tugs on Jae’s arm, giving Jeonghan time alone to talk to Seungcheol one last time.

Standing up straight the two just watch each other. They’ve seen each other grow as people. Their physical appearances changed, they’ve gotten more mature, and their love has grown. Except, sometimes, people need to know themselves, and become the person they know they can be, before being with someone they want. One must love themselves before loving someone else. And Jeonghan needed that. He needs to love himself for everything he is and isn’t.

“Be the great dad I know you are,” Jeonghan pats the other’s chest, “I’ve taught you a lot.”

“Live your life Hani,” Seungcheol places his hand over the younger’s, “We’ll be waiting. I’ll be waiting.”

“You don’t have to wait for me you know.”

“But I will,” determination burning in his eyes, “You’re the one for me.”

A beautiful smile appears on Jeonghan’s face. He lifts up his pinky finger, “Until then Choi Seungcheol?”

Wrapping his own pinky with his, he tugs hard enough to jerk the other closer to place a simple kiss on Jeonghan’s lips. One that meant so much. Pulling back, their eyes lock. “Until then Yoon Jeonghan.”

The four of them wave to him as he boards the trams. Jae waves through sad tears as she clings to her mom’s hand.

“Did you know about him leaving?”

Joshua turns his head, observing Seungcheol’s features. Face void of emotion, eyes filled with unshed tears. Yet, there’s a small curve to his lips. As a response, he shakes his head. He had no clue that his best friend had been planning on leaving the country. 

He looks at the family. Nayoung. Jae. Seungcheol. 

This is their new chapter in their lives. One where Jeonghan wasn’t going to be in. They all just had to accept it.

 

 

***

 

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> END SCENE (Sorry For any mistakes lmaooooooo)  
> I love and appreciate you all!


	6. To Infinity and Beyond

Rushing out of his room, the raven-haired man adjusts his watch accordingly as he picks up his daughter’s backpack from the floor holding it out as he counts down the seconds until the little girl grabs it out of his hold. He pours himself a cup of coffee as he kicks the refrigerator door open just as Jae comes around the counter, reaching up to get her lunch box already filled with food from the middle shelf.

“Jae, you ready for school?”

Both of them turn to the voice and smile as their good morning’s, “Yeah, daddy’s just has to put on his shoes.”

“Morning,” Seungcheol maneuvers his way over, giving Nayoung a quick hello kiss on the cheek, “Don’t forget about your project!”

“I have it right here!” His daughter holds up her 3-D model of the solar system, “If I don’t get the best one, can you sue them?”

"I don't think your dad can sue them, honey," Nayoung pats Jae's head, "Alright, let's get you to school. I'll see you later tonight Cheol!”

“Don’t forget about the shoot tomorrow for our advertisement ‘Young! I’m trusting you with that!” Seungcheol waves as the two exit his house fixing his tie. Going over to his bathroom he looks at himself in the mirror. A year can do a lot to someone. People change and so do feelings. Just like how he wasn’t feeling the tie anymore.

A year without Jeonghan.

It was really hard to adjust without him for the first two months. But once everyone had finally accepted that Jeonghan was doing great in Korea, they had to accept that their lives were going to have to be great whether Jeonghan was here or not.

His departure really affected everyone. The entire public relations department went up in flames for about a week because they refused to believe he wasn't coming back. Seungcheol's own parents shed a couple of tears knowing Jeonghan wasn't going to be coming to family dinners every month. However, Jihoon and Seokmin took the news the hardest. Jihoon had taken it up to completely ignore Seungcheol's existence for a month while Seokmin had taken a week off from work. Joshua was the one to inform him that all Seokmin did at home was eat ice cream and cry about how horrible and cruel Seungcheol was for breaking his OTP up.

But Jeonghan did hold up his end of the bargain. Anytime Jae had missed him immensely, she’d FaceTime him, updating him about life and talk about how much she missed him to the point where she’d fall asleep some nights. The first couple of times, Seungcheol would pick the phone up and have brief conversations with Jeonghan before hanging up. He wanted to say more, but he knew he shouldn’t. Not yet. To stop the urge, he simply just didn’t talk to him. It made it a lot easier.

Quickly ripping it off he rolls his eyes deciding to go for the more casual office look; dress shirt tucked in, slacks and nice shoes. To hell with a blazer and tie.

 

 

*** 

 

 

Clearing his throat as he looked around the office. He sees all eyes on him; anticipation on his employees’ faces. “HR is asking us all to sign these non-fraternization contracts. It’s to limit you animals from dating and defiling the office space. And after the incident last month,” His eyes narrowed in on three of his employees who shrunk under the gaze, “A lot of people weren’t too happy with the situation. So, starting today, relationships besides those who are married, are strictly prohibited.”

“What!”

“Good, I don’t like any of you bitches anyway.”

“But that’s not fair!”

"Fuck you, Jared, you have to stop hitting on me now!"

“This is why I’m glad I don’t work with my ex-boyfriend,” Jihoon gives them all a devilish laugh as he rocks back and forth in the chair, feet propped on the table.

“Didn’t Soonyoung tell you to stop calling him your ex?” Seokmin questions, standing next to Seungcheol, “He’s your husband dude.”

“That’s not fair! Josh and Seokmin are in a relationship!”

“I’m the COO and I’ve been dating him for five years and almost two years before he started working here. HR gave me an okay!” His smug looked turned happy at just the simple thought of Joshua.

“What about you?” another worker chimes in pointing his finger accusingly at his boss. Seungcheol tilts his head, pretending he had no idea what he was talking about.

He tried. He really did. Seungcheol tried to hide his grin when the distraught employee aimed his finger on the brunet who was spinning lazily in his office chair – he thought it was too much effort to actually stand and walk out of his office for the announcement, so he opts to roll his way out. “You two started dating like two weeks ago.”

"HR approved as well," His Public Relation Director exclaims, rolling backward to Seungcheol giving him a high-five.

Unable to contain it, he looks down at the man in the chair, giving him a gummy smile. Leave it to Jeonghan to turn a serious meeting into a gloating fest. "We live together, and I'm basically Jae's dad. We're practically married. Not a fling, unlike all you insatiable gremlins.”

“Just say it’s because you’re dating the boss.”

“Yeah, it’s because I’m dating the boss,” Jeonghan says triumphantly. Finally standing, he focuses his attention on his partner, “I’m going to go pick up Jae.”

“Okay, bye, see you later,” Seungcheol’s demeanor changes from authoritative to soft in a split second. Giving Jeonghan a peck before the brunet left, he scrunches his nose in delight when he hears his employees grumble about how unfair it was and how they were just rubbing it in their faces.

“That’s inappropriate and distracting according to HR!”

"Why haven't you been fired yet, Beatrice!" Jeonghan hisses.

“I have a name and it’s Barbara!”

"Yeah well, I have a healthy and allowed relationship! And it's with your boss!"

Seungcheol laughs, pulling Jeonghan closer – he couldn’t keep his hands off him – giving him a small kiss on his temple, whispering for him to calm down. Reluctantly, the PR Director nods, kissing him once more before heading towards the elevator.

“That’s a foul,” Wendy points to Jeonghan as the elevator closes. The latter does a mini dance as he disappears behind the closing doors. And Seungcheol misses him already.

“I’m legally allowed to show my love for my boyfriend,” he clicks his tongue at Jihoon who tosses him a small red box. Taking in the mini gasps around the office, he wiggles the box a bit, “And this is exactly the reason HR approved it.”

“You’re proposing to Jeonghan!?”

“God no. We’ve been dating for two weeks,” Seungcheol scoffs before passing it to Seokmin, “He’s gonna be proposing to Joshua, and Jeonghan can’t know about it because he sucks at keeping secrets from him.”

“Wait so how’d you get HR to approve your relationship?”

“Oh that definitely was foul play,” he gave them all a smug look, “I own this company, I’m their boss, Jeonghan and I have been in love for a very long time now but it’s too soon to get married so-”

“You threatened to fire them?”

“I threatened to fire them.” He nods immediately, “Get back to work and no canoodling in storage rooms, coffee rooms, break rooms or in your offices, and for my LGBT people out there; if I see you guys in the bathroom, I’ll bring Henry up here myself.” He side-eyed his secretary.

“Oh please, you act like you and Han don’t get it on in your office.”

“But I’m also the one who decides on bonuses at the end of the year.”

“And you’ve never looked better,” Irene winks at him, spinning back to face her computer monitor, not wanting to miss out on her bonus.

 

One year. It took one year for both of them to break.

Jeonghan wanted space, he understood that. He respected that. Except for the fact that Seungcheol just missed him too damn much.

He would gladly report that no; the love he had for Jeonghan wasn’t “false love” or “him being complacent” nor was it “because it was the right thing to do” no. None of that. It just continued to grow more and more each day. His heart was basically begging and clawing at Seungcheol’s chest to be let free, to be connected with its other half.

The mini conversations he had over the phone wasn’t enough. The brief text messages about how everything was would never suffice compared to the real deal. But he persevered through it. He had to. For Jeonghan.

That was until the day he broke.

_It was one of those days at the office where nothing was going right. Everything was a mess, servers were down, copy machines were jammed and Irene was out for a sick day. The stereotypical, straight out of the movie shit-show. And all Seungcheol wanted that entire day was Jeonghan. He needed him so bad. He wanted the younger to tell him that everything was going to be fine, that he just needed to breathe. Seungcheol missed him so damn much._

_He still blames himself to this day for Jeonghan’s departure. He hates himself for it. He thinks that maybe if he hadn’t been so dense, and if he would have appreciated him a percent more, he wouldn’t be feeling this excruciating pain at night when he thinks about how Jeonghan wasn’t there with him._

_Seungcheol had given up on his work around ten at night. He called Nayoung earlier that day that he wouldn’t be able to make it home so Jae should just stay at her place for the next two days to which she happily obliged. And instead of work, he scrolled through airfare tickets. One way tickets to Seoul. Seungcheol needed to see Jeonghan; he couldn’t take it anymore._

_Not even caring how much it was or when the flight was, he whips out his wallet, prepared to pay whatever amount just so he could see the other when Joshua comes knocking on his office door._

_“What!” Seungcheol didn’t mean to yell. Although it was expected. There was too much pent-up frustration and rage in him that Joshua would have been shocked if he didn’t respond in such way._

_“Whatever you’re doing right now, I need you to just breathe and relax,” the accountant’s voice attempted to mellow out the high-strung boss. Seungcheol was extremely close to snapping at him but couldn’t when he felt his heart being ripped out of his chest. Dropping his pen, he stood, and at that moment, it was as if his world had tilted back into place when a man with chestnut colored hair walked through his door wearing worn out skinny jeans and a denim jacket he knew all too well. Neither noticed how Joshua had closed the door behind him, leaving the two alone. “I told you I’d be back.”_

_“Jeonghan…”_

_“I made it through two semesters,” His voice wavered. “I… I thought I could do it. I thought I was happy. And- And I was… for a while. Until halfway through the last semester they offer me to stay another year." Seungcheol watched as he nervously fiddled with his hands, "Because as soon as he asked if I wanted it. I said no."_

_The raven-haired man marveled at the way Jeonghan spoke. Moved. Blinked. Breathed. Because he’s right in front of him. “You’re here.”_

_“I… I booked a flight right after my last lecture. I packed all my things and I've been wanting and waiting to come back for at least two months now," Jeonghan's said in an uneven tone. "I realized I missed you. I missed Jae. I missed Joshua. I missed your parents. And I’ve been wanting and waiting to tell you that I am still…” he choked on his own words, tears already streaming down his face, “insanely in love with you and I am hoping and praying that you are too.”_

_That was by far the stupidest question Seungcheol had heard all day. And he’s gotten some pretty dumb ones._

_Yet he remained silent. Staring into Jeonghan’s eyes. The moment he saw doubt in the brown orbs, he hurries to him, not even hesitating to reconnect his lips with Jeonghan’s because finally. They were together again._

_For the first time all day, Seungcheol smiled._

_“I can live without you,” Jeonghan whispered, “I know I can. I can live without having Jae in my life. I can live without having the two of you there. But I want you two to be in it. I want to be in your life if the spot’s still open.”_

_“You mean the spot that’s been reserved for you?” he chuckles a bit, placing a light peck on Jeonghan’s nose, “We’ve been waiting.”_

_To say that Jae was thrilled would be an understatement. The second Jeonghan stepped foot into the house, a terribly loud shriek resonated throughout the walls of the humble abode. “HANI!” Dropping her spoon and fork she ran straight to him almost knocking over a couple of chairs in the process._

_“You got so big!” Jeonghan gushes as he reciprocates the tight hug he received._

_“My turn!” Nayoung yelled trying to pry her daughter off the unexpected guest. Finally getting Jae to let go, she throws her arms around Jeonghan’s neck, almost crying tears of joy. “Oh God, you have no idea how much I missed seeing your stupid face.”_

_“I FaceTime you guys every chance I get. And I saw you a couple months ago when you had that shoot in Incheon,” he rubs her back a bit._

_“How did you manage to parent with Seungcheol, he’s such a pushover,” she squeezed him harder, “It’s not good when you have two pushover parents Hani, it’s horrible and I thought I was bad. We tried the discipline thing a couple of times when it got out of control but she just laughed at us. We had to get Wonwoo and Joshua to do it. Cheol and I are just too soft.”_

_Jeonghan looked over at Seungcheol who was trying to calm a hyperactive Jae down. He’s finally back._

_The two sat together outside on the veranda, stared at the small waves of the pools reflected onto the top of the screen from the lights. Jeonghan had his back against the armrest, legs bridging over Seungcheol's lap, while the CEO had one arm thrown over the back of the sofa, his other hand gently patting Jeonghan’s knee to a slow rhythm. “I’m glad your dad is doing a lot better, I want to meet him someday.”_

_“My family actually really wants to meet you and Jae. They know Nayoung too well already and we had lunch together when she was over.”_

_Seungcheol nodded, making sure to take note and find time in his schedule to plan a trip. “Maybe we should talk about… us.”_

_Jeonghan tilted his head, fringes shifting from the sudden movement, “What’s there to talk about?”_

_"What are we going to be from here on out?" Seungcheol couldn't help but cringe at how hesitant he sounded the entire time. "You know how much I love you. And I'm almost positive you love me just as much. But where does that leave our relationship?" He asked before expanding. "We lived together for over four years. We took care of my daughter together. We went our separate ways for a bit, but now you’re back. Do we pick up where we left off? Do we start over? Or what? I sound awfully inexperienced right now but I just want us to be on the same page.”_

_The brunet readjusted his position, sitting up and shifting one leg underneath him. “Ask me out. Ask me to move in with you. Ask me if I want my job back. Then, ask what we are.”_

_An unsure look washed over Seungcheol’s face, but he still followed instructions._

_“Jeonghan will you go out with me?”_

_“Yes.”_

_“Will you move in with me?”_

_“Of course.”_

_“Do you want your old position back?”_

_“I’ll have to rightfully take it back from who has it. But sure.”_

_“Yoon Jeonghan… What are we?”_

_He leaned closer, taking Seungcheol’s bottom lip between his, drawing him closer when he puts his hand on the nape of the other’s neck. Slowly dragging away from him, he placed one more kiss on the corner of his mouth when Seungcheol chased after his. “We are anything you want us to be. As long as we’re exclusive, I don’t give a damn what you call it. I am with you because I want to be with you, not because you need me. Not because I need to be here. I’m with you because I’m in love with you.”_

_“And I want you to be here because I love you. You were right, I didn’t need you to take care of Jae, but that doesn’t me I didn’t wish you were here. You’re in my life not because you were in my life for so long, but because I want you to be a part of it.”_

_“Then that’s exactly what we are,” Jeonghan said so simply. “We’re together because we want to be. Not because we have to be. We have history but this relationship is still new. We can go as slow or as fast as we want to take it. Okay?”_

_“Okay.”_

 

 

***

 

 

Stretching his arms in the air, he bends from side to side, tossing his briefcase onto the couch. A grin makes its way on Seungcheol's face when he spots Jeonghan in the middle of the kitchen, pouring two glasses or red wine. Pressing close to his side, he wraps both arms around the brunet’s waist. “Hi.”

Jeonghan’s nose scrunches, joy evident on his face when he feels a kiss being placed on his cheek, “Hi, is Jae at Nayoung’s place tonight?”

“Jae wanted to spend time with her mom before she has to go for Paris fashion week, so we have the next two days alone.”

“Is that really your guys’ set up?” Jeonghan chuckles, “Acting as divorced parents?”

“Separated is the proper terminology,” he plants another kiss on the other cheek while reaching for his wine glass. “We go out as a family. Theme parks, park days, she usually has dinner here and from there we have a schedule for whose house she sleeps at. Jae loves it because she got to decorate another room.”

“Ah yes, that sounds right.”

“So, what’s for dinner?”

“Italian,” There’s a cheeky smile on his face, clinking their glasses together.

Seungcheol eyes the countertop, all too amused. He flips the box open, “Pepperoni pizza?”

“Godere!” Jeonghan quips happily pulling a slice to bite.

There are special moments in time where something phenomenal happens. Sometimes it happens yearly, like lunar eclipses, shooting stars. Maybe daily, like the sun shining in the sky and the moon and the stars. Even once and a lifetime experiences; an aurora borealis, Halley's Comet, and when the planets all align.

Seungcheol would like to think that he’s lucky enough to have something people dream of having. Someone he loves, a great daughter, a healthy relationship with the mother, amazing friends, and incredible parents. But he knows luck had nothing to do with it. Because he prayed for this. And he’s forever grateful.

 

 

***

 

 

The nine-year-old skips over to the Starbucks, waving to the employees. It’s a daily occurrence. Jeonghan and Seungcheol would wait for Jae who enjoys grabbing their morning pickups.

Bouncing on her heels her attention is caught by two unfamiliar faces who are waiting right beside her for their orders. Looking around, she turns back around to face them, now knowing they were looking at her.

Hesitantly, one of the girls steps closer, bending down a bit to reach eye-level, “Hi there, sweetie. Who is the guy you came in with?” the brunette gestures behind her.

Jae turns to look at both Jeonghan and Seungcheol who were waiting for her by the elevators, casually talking. Facing the women again, she gives them a questioning scowl, “Are you new here?” her voice completely unimpressed.

“We’re interning with the Public Relations department.”

“Oh, so you’ll be working with my dad?” she reaches for her lemonade from one of the baristas, sipping the straw. The two new hires give her a weird look; she didn’t even order anything and she received a drink.

“Your dad,” the blonde points to Jeonghan, “is the head of PR here?” apparently remembering him since he’s the one who interviewed her.

Nodding her head, she looks past her, smiling when she’s handed the cup tray with two coffees stuck in it. Sticking her own drink in it she turns her head back to the interns, “The other one owns this building.”

“So you’re dad’s friends with the CEO?”

“The CEO _is_ my dad,” She cranes her head to sip from her drink again, raising an eyebrow at the two's reaction, "My mom's a supermodel and my dad’s gay Becky.” Jae takes extreme pleasure from their facial expressions as they try to click all the puzzle pieces together – trying hard to mask that they were slightly offended by the assumption of their name.

Both girls look at each other whispering, “So if her dad is Mister Yoon, and her other dad is the CEO and gay while his mom is a model…”

Just then, Jeonghan and Seungcheol approach the three girls, wondering who exactly their daughter is talking to, “Jae, my coffee~” Jeonghan whines, reaching for it, making sure it wasn’t hot. He looks between the two familiar faces, “Oh, you guys are my new interns!”

“Papa Hani, they were just asking me who daddy was.”

The smile turns sour when he realizes what they were talking to his kid about. “Oh. Cheol. Tell them exactly who you are.”

There’s the look on his face. Jeonghan tends to do this when he gets a bit possessive. Reaching his hand out, trying not to laugh, he says slowly, “I’m the Chief Executive Officer of this company as well as Jae’s dad and Jeonghan’s trophy husband who loves him very much because he’s the epitome of perfection.” Wrapping an arm around his waist, he gives him an amused smile, “Was that good?”

“Perfect,” a hint of cockiness in his voice when he hands him his coffee. “Come on Jae, Seokmin said he had a surprise for you.”

As Jeonghan and Jae went ahead, Seungcheol stayed back a little to apologize on his husband’s behalf. “Just don’t try too hard. Also, meet me in my office when you get up there. Jeonghan and I have a briefing with all the new interns, alright?” he claps his hands together before walking away to catch up with his family inside the elevator.

They reach their floor, laughing about what had happened moments ago. Jeonghan praises how Jae had talked to them while Seungcheol wonders just exactly who his daughter learned her sass from, her mom or her other dad.

The office workers give them quick glances, not wanting to be obvious with it. Wendy smiles at Irene and Joshua who are in the break room together. Seokmin’s eyes flicker up from the report he was reviewing with an employee, the corner of his lip turning up. Jihoon leans back in his chair to peek out of his open door while still on the phone, he shakes his head with a tiny grin.

They all look at the family.

Seungcheol. Jae. Jeonghan. Nayoung – who was at her own job.

This is their lives. Everyone accepts it. That their lives weren't the typical ‘mom-dad' household society has normalized. Not when there is Uncle Joshua, Wonwoo, and Mingyu who have been watching Jae grow from the beginning. Not when there is Uncle Jihoon, Seokmin, and Soonyoung who came into her life later but she loves just the same. It's not typical when she has her grandparents, Miss Eugene, Wendy and Irene who watch over her from time to time as well. Not when she has a mom that cares so much about her and who's been through so much so she could give Jae a better life. And especially not when she has Seungcheol as her dad and Jeonghan as her Papa.

Because she’ll always remember what all three of her parents tell her. She’s the sun. And everyone who loves her is the stars and planets that revolve around her.

“Be good and don’t give Irene a tattoo again okay?” Seungcheol instructs her before walking towards Jeonghan’s office – not missing how his secretary tells her she’ll hide it better this time.

Knocking on his husband’s office door, entering, “Babe. Restaurant or take out?”

Jeonghan closes one of his drawers, “Take out, Nayoung’s having lunch with us since she won’t make it for dinner.”

“Alright,” Seungcheol nods. “I’ll call around twelve, we’ll eat in my office.”

Walking closer Jeonghan gives him a quick kiss, “Okay. Until then.”

The CEO winks at him, a goofy smile on his face, “Until then.” He says, closing the door behind him.

 

 

***

 

 

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Im going to drop some honest to God truth bombs right now. Some of your comments were pretty rude and demanding and I’m not a robot that can produce fics. My life doesn't purely revolve around writing.  
> And this was my favorite story to write, and I was really excited when I wrote it and I was going to add this part in the last chapter but I didn’t because it just didn’t fit for me. But now this has got to be one of my least favorites and a good majority of you made me feel like I OWE you all this chapter and that’s not why I started writing.  
> I write when I need a distraction from life and all the shit I go through day to day. But I got over 30 comments (within the first hours of posting!) about how you all need a sequel, or how you felt betrayed or angry. I don’t care if you meant it as a joke or whatever. That added a lot of pressure on me. I was meant to post the epilogue maybe when I woke up hours later but I actually really had to think long and hard about if I wanted to even upload it or not.  
> I stay up writing and finishing these stories b/c it doesn’t sit well with me to leave them unfinished. But I guess I’m not like other authors who can just tune out the comments that make me feel like shit. (And yes. I've seen the reactions on Twitter too. I can read Tagalog, Spanish, French and I think I'm pretty good at interpreting other Filipino dialects)  
> For those who reached out to me, thank you, I really appreciate all of you, (especially those who commented here and on twitter, you guys know who you are) you all are really sweet and I’m undeserving of the kindness and I hope I’ve made a couple of friends in the process. Or at least you all know that you were the ones that made my day better.  
> All I know is that I am tired.


End file.
